A tourism summit to showcase the best Copeland has to offer will be held tomorrow.

Hosted by Copeland mayor Mike Starkie and organised by the borough council, it will feature a range of speakers from different sectors of the industry who will make commitments towards increasing tourism in the borough.

Held at St Bees Management Centre, speakers include Gill Haigh, managing director of Cumbria Tourism; Peter Frost-Pennington, director of Muncaster Castle; Steve Ratcliffe, director of sustainable development at the Lake District National Park Authority, Nigel Wilkinson, a member of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership's board, Julie Betteridge, Copeland Council's executive director and Trudy Harrison, Copeland MP.

Mr Starkie said: “There is a huge opportunity for Copeland to enjoy a greater share of the tourism industry, and we want to encourage as many people as possible to explore our outstanding tourism offer.

Mrs Haigh added: “Copeland is increasingly popular with visitors not only from the UK, but from across the world.

“Our most recent analysis confirms a total of 3.62 million annual visitors visited the borough in 2017 – up 4.6 per cent on the previous year."

Mr Frost-Pennington said: “For me, Copeland is the biggest jewel in the sparkling crown of Cumbria with England’s highest mountain, deepest lake as well as a fabulous coastline, friendly people and fascinating towns and villages. Copeland has so much to offer and I am looking forward to participating in the summit.”