James Wilkinson has a simple word to describe how business has been going at the Three Shires Inn since it was allowed to reopen on April 12.

“It’s been manic,” says James, as he surveys the customers stretched out on the lawn, sitting at tables and enjoying the shade of the verandah around the inn in Little Langdale, near Ambleside.

The inn, which James bought with Tony Guthrie in 2018, has been busy serving hundreds of lunches and pulling thousands of pints as visitors return to Cumbria.

“It’s been well above average for this time of year and people aren’t even allowed to eat inside yet,” says James.

Although the ‘stay at home’ restriction on travel ended on March 29, it was not until the further loosening of rules around the opening of hospitality and non-essential shops in April that there was a noticeable increase in tourist numbers in the county.

Jen Cormack, sales and marketing director for Windermere Lake Cruises, one of the Lake District’s busiest attractions based in Bowness, says it began renting out its self-drive boats and running limited passenger services on March 31and increased the number of cruises on April 12.

Jen says things became gradually busier with visitors allowed to use self-contained accommodation.

However, it is still operating at a reduced capacity with passengers wearing face masks.

“The self-drive boats have been really successful because guests can just go out on their own and they are not with anyone else and it’s up to a maximum of six people,” she says.

“This year it’s very much about giving customers information before they get here and letting customers know that they have to pre-plan and book in advance.”

She says some aspects of this summer will be easier, with customers already inured to measures like mask-wearing and social distancing.

“Last year it was all new for people, this year people are well prepared,” she says.

“We are probably going to have a bit of an easier ride this time.”

Another big change came on May 17 when it recommenced operating wedding cruises for up to 30 people.

Hospitality venues such as bed and breakfasts and hotels also opened on the same day, driving another increase in customers.

However, Jen is realistic about how much may actually change on June 21 when - under the Government’s “road map” - all restrictions are set to be lifted.

“We are not expecting the world to just flip and go back to normal and I think guests are aware of that,” she says.

One of the biggest effects on the business has been driven by the drop in international tourists, which are also a vital part of sustaining levels throughout the winter.

However, some domestic coach tours began running again last month alongside school groups.

Jen says it does have some international groups booked in for later in the year, although they are awaiting news on travel corridors

“Just to know that the demand is there is great,” she says.

“It could be a difficult winter if international travel reopens then we will lose a lot of that staycation market but will we get the inbound back.

“We just don’t know. It’s been the biggest learning curve any of us have gone through and it continues to be and we’ll just have to continue doing that.”

Honister, which offers a range of adventure activities from the slate mine at the top of the eponymous pass in the north Lake District, began welcoming visitors back for some activities at the end of March.

Activity manager Prentice Wilkinson-Weir says trade started slowly but has become steadily busier throughout April and May.

“We are expecting a surge as Airbnbs and hotels open and camping will play a huge part in it as well,” he says.

The attraction is offering a variety of pursuits, with the exception of mine tours and its Climbing the Mine activities which either involve people going inside or being in close proximity.

If the Government sticks to its schedule it is hoped these will be able to recommence this month.

The business has used enforced downtime to add some improvements to the Climb the Mine activity, such as a new zip wire and Tarzan swing, as well as to introduce some other yet-to-be launched attractions.

“Because we’ve been closed we’ve been able to look at what we can and can’t do and what we can improve,” says Prentice.

“We’re quite excited to see whether all the changes we’ve made have been successful and how well they run.”

Bookings for the coming weeks are gradually increasing, although Prentice says people may still be wary of booking too far ahead.

“We’ve increased our capacity on the activities, we are able to run about 200 people through on a day on our via ferrata instead of the 150 we used to be able to do,” he says.

However, he adds that whatever happens with the national rules, it will take a steady approach to lifting safety measures and gauge the feelings of customers.

“We’re probably going to have to keep some in place until people feel they can relax.”

Cumbria Tourism managing director Gill Haigh is confident the sector can bounce back this year with research showing the satisfaction rates for visitors in 2020 were over 90 per cent.

“That’s a real credit to the industry,” she says.

“People felt so welcome and new visitors who had only come because they couldn’t go on holiday abroad want to come back.”

Last year she says the county saw an increase in visitors from the south and the midlands and people from black and minority ethnic communities.

“All of those are things we can continue to work on as we go through this next year and beyond,” she says.

Cumbria Tourism has been working with Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership and the county’s local authorities and the police as part of a Tactical Visitor Management Group.

“That’s about trying to learn some of the lessons from last year sothat we are able to plan ahead to provide the best possible experience for visitors and support communities,” she says.

She says some car parks have been temporarily expanded while the group is also communicating messages around littering and other issues via the Safer Lakes campaign online.

“It’s also about encouraging people to not just come in the summer,” she says.

“We are an all year round destination and a lot of our businesses which aren’t already open in the winter are keen to look at ways to create all year round experiences.”

However, if the winter does end up being quiet in Cumbria, Gill says the organisation will consider lobbying Government for measures such as a further extension to the furlough scheme.

More funding to help destination management organisations like Cumbria Tourism promote winter breaks would also be welcome, and Gill says it would have liked to see a greater extension to the VAT and business rates relief announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in March.

“These have been really good businesses who have contributed greatly and provided lots of jobs and those jobs mean we have vibrant communities,” she says.

“If we feel we need more support we will call for it. I think when we say something people do listen to it.”