Anticipation is building for next month’s Cumbria Tourism Awards, with the county’s world-class tourism businesses set to share their stand-out success stories on the big stage. 

The finalists will have the chance to walk the red carpet at a VIP awards ceremony, taking place at Castle Green Hotel in Kendal on Wednesday, July 5. The host for the evening has been confirmed as ITV Border reporter and presenter Kate Walby. 
Kate joined ITV in 2001 and began her career reporting on the foot and mouth crisis in Cumbria. In 2006 she moved to Leeds to present ITV Yorkshire's Calendar news programme, but returned to Cumbria with her husband in 2014 to raise their young family.
She said: “I am thrilled and honoured to be invited to host this year's event. I know how lucky I am to live and work in such a beautiful part of the UK, no wonder millions of people holiday here every year. 
“With two UNESCO world heritage sites, 11 Michelin star restaurants and produce that is the envy of the world, Cumbria has so much to shout about. These awards celebrate the success of those businesses that help put the county on the world map and in turn support the working population and the local economy.”
The Cumbria Tourism Awards are a chance for a wide range of tourism and hospitality businesses to shout about their achievements, from restaurants, guesthouses and B&Bs to self-catering accommodation, hotels, pubs and visitor attractions/experiences. 
The finalists in the main 15 categories have been selected by an independent panel of industry experts. To win, the judges will be looking for operators that offer truly distinctive, memorable visitor experiences and demonstrate excellence across every aspect of their business.
To round off the night there will be a special surprise presentation of the Bernard Gooch Award for ‘Cumbria’s Tourism Personality of the Year’. This is the highest award collectively given by the industry for an individual’s lifelong services to tourism. 
Eligible winners in many of the categories will also automatically feed into the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2024, for the chance to gain national recognition.
Managing director of Cumbria Tourism, Gill Haigh, said: “To win - or be shortlisted for – a Cumbria Tourism award is a fantastic way for operators to show they are investing not only in their products and services, but also in their staff and ultimately their customers. 
“It will be a privilege to bring an array of tourism-related operators together this July to mark their achievements and in the meantime, I have no doubt the judges will have a very tough task on their hands.”
The Cumbria Tourism Awards are organised on a ‘not for profit’ basis and sponsors include United Utilities, Lawson Design, EWGA Wines, Booths, Heineken, Mr & Mrs Jones Events and Jenny Woolgar Photography. For more information, visit: www.cumbriatourism.org/awards