Accessibility is for everyone. This is the thought at the heart of one organisation’s recent campaign, an effort that has assured a warm welcome for all who come to this English region. By deploying comprehensive and collaborative strategies, the winner of our “Accessibility Award” category not only successfully executed a well-thought through campaign but has used this success as a platform to spark engagement and awareness among all those who participate in the visitor economy in this part of England.
Winner: Cumbria Tourism
An effort to raise awareness, a drive to provide support
With its “Adventure for Everyone” campaign, Cumbria Tourism — the local visitor economy partnership (LVEP) responsible for promoting the Lake District — sought to highlight the needs of visitors who have health issues (whether visible or hidden) that impact their ability to undertake and enjoy day-to-day activities. The overall goal of the organisation’s marketing efforts was to encourage hospitality and tourism operators throughout the region — including those in Carlisle, the Western Lake District, and the Coast of Cumbria — to improve the visibility of their accessibility offering. Featuring a mix of marketing and support, the “Adventure for Everyone” campaign was geared toward helping these businesses engage and align with the guidance set forth by VisitEngland and its accessibility partner, AccessAble.
Striking imagery and site improvements: a strategy for success
At its heart, this was a campaign that relied upon powerful imagery and inspirational video to show visitors and locals alike enjoying a range of accessible activities and venues across the region. As the LVEP explained, “Engaging content such as itineraries and blogs were developed to provide ideas and inspiration for accessible and inclusive days out ... We also added listings for additional accessible products throughout Cumberland.”
“The campaign required improvements to be made to the search facilities on visitlakedistrict.com to make it easier to find accessibility information in searches and on listings. Furthermore, a review of how accessible information is found on the site took place, resulting in accessibility information being expanded and seeded across all areas of the site.”
Reaping the ongoing rewards of a successful campaign
This wide-ranging project — delivered by Cumbria Tourism in collaboration with Cumberland Council’s UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) — was deployed not only via the LVEP’s main visitor site, but also through email, in print, and on social media.
The team at Cumbria Tourism noted an increase in searches on their customer-facing Visit Lake District site — specifically those incorporating accessibility information filters — as well as an increase in page views and user numbers for their site’s accessibility pages. The LVEP also noted that, “161 website listings have had new accessibility information added or updated,” bringing the total number of the site’s listings that can be searchable by accessible filters up to 236. Finally, as of 14 February 2025, the “Adventure for Everyone” campaign generated a total reach of 6,398,977 and had an average open rate of 33.5%.
But more importantly, the improvements and enhancements to the site’s search facilities — implemented as a result of this campaign — have ensured accessibility information can now be easily found by all who visit this website. These ultimately led to the development of a full-scale accessibility hub, a feature that ensures everyone can enjoy their time in the Lake District.
Offering their comments on the win, one member of the judging panel remarked this was “a good example of an initiative to develop and promote accessible tourism in a destination. The campaign yielded tangible results and there is a legacy of quality accessibility content on the website.”
Well done Cumbria! Ready for another win? Stay with us to see who took the top spot in our next category, that of “Simpleview Marketer of the Year.”
