A GROUP of hospitality and tourism businesses in the Lake District is embarking on a trade mission to meet with key decision makers in the Japanese travel industry.

Members of the Lake District Japan Forum are seeking to increase overseas visitors with the five day delegation to Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, which follows hot-on-the-heels of a recent reception in London with more than 50 leading Japanese tour operators.

The delegation aims to maximise opportunities and further strengthen tourism links with Japan.

It includes representatives from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, Windermere Lake Cruises, Mountain Goat Tours/Lindeth Howe Hotel, Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway, The National Trust and the World of Beatrix Potter Attraction.

Media and VIP events in Tokyo are being sponsored by Windermere Jetty, presenting the chance to announce the newest attraction on England’s longest lake to a part of the world that has proved the areas’ most enduring international market.

All tourism experts met by the group will also receive a special Cumbrian gift, a jar of Jane’s Marmalade from the Dalemain Mansion near Penrith, which has already been the subject of two television documentaries on NKT, a channel equivalent to the BBC in Japan.

Colin Fox,from English Lakes Hotels Resorts & Venues, who is chairman of the Lake District Japan Forum, said: “The London event was the ideal platform to kick-start our latest campaign to inform Japanese travel planners about our current tourism offer and some exciting new additions in the World Heritage Lake District National Park.

“The focus for this trade delegation is to reinforce established venues and some new developments such as Low Wood Bay Resort & Spa, the Lake District’s first world class resort, as well as the new Windermere Jetty museum. We will also capitalise on the cinema release of the Peter Rabbit film earlier this year and how that has boosted the awareness and love for the character and the countryside being portrayed.”