Keswick born and bred yet with experience gained in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand and France Jack Beament is well aware of the changing world when it comes to tourism.
As manager of the Keswick Tourism Association, his appointment in January was just weeks before the announcement that the Tour de France was destined to come to town.
“I was shocked because having lived in France where I used to run a bike tour company in Paris I know the magnitude of the tour,” Jack told Business Crack.
“For Keswick it’s exciting and is going to put the town on the world map. For us now it’s making sure that the town is fully prepared for it but also understand the legacy which it can bring having been a stage of the tour.”
With a membership of over 180 drawn from all sectors, the tourism association is looking to grow by between 10% and 15%.
The challenge and opportunity presented by the tour is just one aspect of work which is taking the attention of Jack and the small team.
Making sure businesses get the most from becoming members is another priority and exciting plans to partner with big brands are in the pipeline, all aimed at making the value of membership even more worthwhile.
In an age when artificial intelligence can be used to help plot a holiday itinerary, ensuring places like Keswick feature highly is in the mind of the association right now.
With new arrival Lily at home, Jack’s keen to help other busy families find a route to Keswick.
“The amount of time myself and my wife Beth say ‘let’s check out what it says’ is the way the world is going; the town has an opportunity to move with the times and become a lot more savvy with social media,” Jack says.
“We just want to be that first step in making sure that we’re helping businesses in doing that because at the end of the day, our biggest success as a business is the imagery of the town. If the image of the town is good and the town is busy and our members have had a successful year then we’ve done our job well.”
Time has certainly moved on since the days when Jack’s father ran the popular Newlands Adventure Centre. Performing almost every role at the country’s longest established outdoor activity centre was where his love of tourism began. When Covid struck the choice of staying in Paris or returning to Cumbria was an easy one. “I never really left,” Jack recalls.
After a short stint with the National Trust followed by a role looking after Windermere School’s international summer school, Jack’s involvement with the tourism association has steadily increased.
His experience of the industry around the globe is something he is keen to share in a town that will have the eyes of the world on it next year. Making sure the opportunity leads to continued prosperity in the years to come is another aim in what is already shaping up to be a busy year.
“We saw a spike on our website that was certainly helped by the fact that Tour de France linked us on their website but I wouldn’t say the town is already booked up,” Jack said.
“We’re lucky with Keswick because the town has its own world-renowned status being in a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“This is going to be one of the biggest things to come to town in my lifetime and we’re currently in the planning stage of what we can do to make sure that legacy lives on for a good long period.”
As a local who also is a partner in a property management company he says he can look at the town from two perspectives; as someone who can look at an idea or proposal from a tourism standpoint but also the impact it might have on then 5,000 people who live in Keswick all year around.
“It’s what I love to do, and it gives me good pride when I see people happy and the town being so successful,” Jack said. “ And if I can be a small part of that in my role, then, happy days.”
