Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

Tourism in Cumbria
Cumbria is located in the north of England and is both peripheral and highly
dependent upon tourism. Unlike Grampian, where there were no reported cases of
foot and mouth disease, Cumbria was directly affected by the presence of the dis-
ease. Cumbria includes the Lake District National Park and the Hadrian’s Wall
World Heritage Site and has recently been awarded Green Globe Destination
Status (see the web site www.golakes.co.uk, Cumbrian Tourist Board, 2003). It is
a relatively remote area composed of sparsely populated sectors with some minor
concentrations of population. The Lake District itself offers a rural experience with
a plethora of cultural events, museums, and galleries. It is dominated by small
owner-managed businesses. However, it has been directly affected by foot and
mouth and other threats since 2001 and there has been a marked decrease in visi-
tor numbers as demonstrated in Table 2. Table 2 shows the drop in numbers expe-
rienced by tourism businesses due to the foot and mouth epidemic. The trips refer
to the summer months of June to September 2000–2002.
Table 2 demonstrates that, of the four representative English locations, Cumbria
was the worst affected and experienced the greatest percent reduction in visitor
numbers, with little evidence of recovery in 2002.
The Effect of Disaster on Peripheral Tourism Places
175
Table 2
Tourism Trips in England
All Tourism Trips 
All Tourism Trips
All Tourism Trips
Summer Trips
2000 (million)
2001 (million)
2002 (million)
England
64.9
55.5
63.0
Cumbria
2.3
1.8
1.8
Yorkshire
6.0
5.4
5.8
London
9.1
7.7
8.0
Source:
Adapted from the web site www.staruk.org.uk (International Passenger Survey, 2003).
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