BUSINESS in the Lakes is booming with more people than ever opting to stay local.

Cumbria Tourism has revealed figures show that, just months after the county was battered by Storm Desmond, record numbers of people are taking a break in the county.

In August, the occupancy for self-catering accommodation in the area was 87 per cent, the highest figure in eight years.

Figures were equally high in the sector during June and July, making this one of the best summer periods in years for the tourism industry.

Mike Grant, customer services manager at Sally's Cottages, said: "Over the past few years people are visiting the Lakes more often. People are now coming three, four, five times a year for weekend breaks or during the middle of the week."

Mr Grant said the reasons behind this boom were difficult to pin down, but he believes it is a combination of increased awareness of the area, and the growing popularity of staycation holidays.

He said: "People do want to staycation now. There are also so many TV programmes showing different parts of the country that show people places they never thought of visiting."

The figures released appear to confirm the growing popularity of domestic holidays, as well as the potential knock-on effects of the EU referendum on currency rates.

Ian Stephens, managing director of Cumbria Tourism, said: "These are positive figures for the county’s £2.62bn tourism industry, with an increasing number of people deciding to stay in the UK for their summer holidays and making the Lake District, Cumbria, their destination of choice.

"The challenge now is to maintain this momentum for the traditionally quieter months of the year, which is why Cumbria Tourism is planning to collaborate with a range of different organisations and areas to launch a major winter marketing campaign to promote the Lake District, Cumbria, as an all-year-round visitor destination."

At Sally's Cottages, Mr Grant has noticed that people are now coming from further afield to visit the Lakes.

He said: "They are usually coming from a few hours away. But we're getting more and more people coming from the South, from places like Kent, Norfolk and Suffolk."

Mr Grant also said that towns that were badly affected by Storm Desmond were seeing greater numbers of tourists visit, helping to rebuild local economies.

He said: "One other factor that we've seen in places like Keswick and places that were affected by the floods - people are keen to come and support those areas again."

The impact of the decision to leave the EU is also believed to have had an effect on the number of people staying in the UK.

Mr Grant said: "It became more expensive to go abroad after Brexit. It does make a big difference. You're going to be paying a third extra to go abroad."

Even though people like Mr Grant know this will not last for ever, the industry will enjoy the boom for as long as it can.

He said: "It's definitely benefited us. We've felt that kind of boom."

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