Boosting Morecambe Bay’s tourism

A series of inspirational new tourism resources have been unveiled today (Wednesday 2 April 2014) to help local businesses promote Morecambe Bay’s fantastic natural and cultural assets to visitors. 

The Morecambe Bay Sense of Place toolkit and Nature on your Doorstep guides celebrate the area’s unique attractions. The Toolkit provides detailed information about the Bay’s most dramatic views and amazing wildlife sites, its rich cultural and culinary heritage, as well as the best places for outdoor recreation such as hiking and cycling. The Doorstep guides focus on nine areas around the Bay from Walney to Wyre, and give ideas for several days of exploration in each area.

These resources are part of a major new tourism initiative in Morecambe Bay, aimed at making the area one of Britain’s fastest developing visitor destinations.

Jenny Wain from the RSPB has been leading on Sense of Place on behalf of Morecambe Bay Partnership and Morecambe Bay Local Nature Partnership. She says: “If we want to promote Morecambe Bay as a destination, we need to know what we are selling.

“Theses resources will help a local B&B owner to share with their guests where to find the most exhilarating walk with a stunning viewpoint, or a great place to taste Morecambe Bay shrimps or locally produced ice cream.

“If a visitor has a great time in Morecambe Bay, they will be much more likely to recommend the destination to their friends and return for a longer visit.”

The Toolkit and Doorstep Guides were developed with the help of over 50 local businesses in the Morecambe Bay Nature Tourism Business Network and the results of an extensive visitor survey around the Bay carried out in 2012.

This survey found that the more than two thirds of people visited Morecambe Bay for its beautiful scenery and more than half came to enjoy its peace, quiet and tranquillity. Nearly nine out of ten people were interested in seeing wildlife, while a similar number expressed an interest in self-guided itineraries.

The resources will receive their official launch at a nature tourism business network event today (Wednesday April 2) at Castle Head Field Centre in Grange Over Sands, and again on Tuesday 8 April at Holgates Holiday Park in Silverdale.

For more information about these events, contact [email protected].     

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Chris Collett, RSPB Regional Communications Manager, 0191 233 4317 / 07885 834889

Notes:

The Sense of Place toolkit and Nature on your Doorstep guides have been produced through Morecambe Bay Local Nature Partnership's Nature Improvement Area programme, Morecambe Bay Partnership's 700 Days to Transform the Bay Scheme and RSPB’s Futurescapes programme.

These are funded by:

Morecambe Bay Partnership

Morecambe Bay Partnership – a small charity making big things happen in the Morecambe Bay area. We are a place based charity with the aim of securing resources that will bring jobs and growth to the area.  Our target for the next 5 years is to secure £10m of investment that will create or safeguard over 8,000 jobs, increasing visitor numbers by 3% equating to an increase in the visitor economy of Morecambe Bay of £15m through its 700 Days to Transform the Bay programme.

700 Days to Transform the Bay – This £0.5 million Morecambe Bay Partnership Scheme will support over 260 tourism-related jobs and safeguard many thousands more.  The funding will be used to connect and sign a 200Km ‘Bay Cycle Way’, deliver events, develop trails and apps to improve information for visitors and provide over 300 training places to support tourism businesses.  The Scheme title ‘700 Days to transform the Bay’ reflects that there is just two years to deliver.

700 Days will create new opportunities for visitors from near and far to explore and enjoy this fascinating area.  Focusing on four clusters around the Bay, the Scheme aims to develop a distinctive, yet diverse offer within each cluster, and support the marketing of a more compelling destination.  We want to bring more visitors who stay longer, travel sustainably, spend more, and repeat their visits. This programme is funded by the Coastal Communities Fund.

The Coastal Communities Fund (CCF) aims to encourage the economic development of UK coastal communities by awarding funding to create sustainable economic growth and jobs. Since the start of the CCF in 2012 grants have been awarded to 104 organisations across the UK to the value of £53.6 million. This funding is forecast to deliver 7,655 jobs and help attract around £90 million of additional funds to coastal areas. The Big Lottery Fund is delivering the CCF on behalf of UK Government and the Devolved Administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Morecambe Bay Limestones and Wetlands Nature Improvement Area (NIA)  The NIA is creating a step change for nature around Morecambe Bay by improving and reconnecting the area’s special wetland, limestone, grassland and woodland habitats, as well as inspiring community action and supporting sustainable farming, woodfuel and wildlife tourism businesses.

This is a partnership between the following organisations: Arnside & Silverdale AONB Partnership, Butterfly Conservation, Cumbria Wildlife Trust, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, Morecambe Bay Partnership, Natural England, RSPB, The National Trust.

The Morecambe Bay Limestones and Wetlands Nature Improvement Area is funded and supported by Defra, DCLG, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission and Natural England.

Futurescapes

The RSPB is working with a range of organisations, businesses and people to give nature a home across Morecambe Bay. The Morecambe Bay Futurescape project aims to improve, create and connect places for wildlife across the landscape and develop the area into world-class nature tourism destination.

Futurescapes is the RSPB’s contribution to landscape-scale conservation and is generously supported by the EU Life+ Communications Programme.