HIGH-RANKING tourism officials from India have been staying in the Lake District.

The Indian Government representatives stayed at the Lakeside Hotel on the shores of Windermere, where they discussed a range of tourism issues.

Staff at Cumbria Tourism chaperoned the party from India, London and Edinburgh on a tour of the area in the hope of encouraging more international tourists from Southern Asia and building links between the two nations.

They included Sultan Ahmed, Minister of State for Tourism, Government of India; Raj Kumar Sunani of India Tourism in London; Sandeep Kumar, of India Tourism; and Anil Kumar Anand, of the Consulate General of India, Edinburgh.

The group met with senior figures in the tourism industry including Angela Metcalfe, Cumbria Tourism’s Commercial Manager; Dan Visser, the Marketing Director of the Langdale Hotel and Spa near Elterwater; and Nigel Wilkinson, Managing Director of Windermere Lake Cruises.

Richard Greenwood, of Cumbria Tourism, said: “We have a lot to offer visitors from India, whether they are visiting family and friends in the North-West, or if they are splitting their time between a traditional city break in Manchester or London, with a relaxing sightseeing time in the Lakes."