Visit Wales and eight stand partners will be selling Wales to the world at the World Travel Market, ExCeL, London from the 3-7 November. This is the leading global event for the travel industry and provides the tourism industry in Wales with a platform to speak to tour operators and travel agents and media which are key in attracting more UK and overseas visitors to Wales.
Wales’ presence at the event comes at a time when tourism in Wales is in a strong competitive position. Recent national and international figures show that Wales is outperforming the rest of the UK in terms of attracting visitors and increasing its market share. In the first six months of 2014, Wales has seen a 21% increase in the number of overseas visitors to Wales while the domestic market has seen a 7.8% increase in the first six months – at a time when the UK as a whole has experienced a downturn.
In a bid to attract more visitors to Wales over the coming years, Visit Wales is joined by Visit Cardiff; North Wales & Celtic Royal Hotel; Cambria Tours; The Celtic Manor Resort; Janet Redler Travel and Tourism; Heritage Wales (Cadw and National Museum Wales); Edwards Coaches and Snowdonia Mountains & Coast.
Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said:
“With tourism in Wales in a strong position I hope that visitors to the World Travel Market will pay the stand a visit to see what we have to offer. 2014 is proving to be a great year for Welsh tourism, even compared to 2013 which was a successful year in itself. According to official figures, Wales is managing to outperform the rest of GB in terms of attracting staying visitors and day visitors and it is not difficult to see why. Wales has been named as one of the top five places in the world to visit by readers of the Rough Guides, while Rhossili Beach has been named among the top 10 beaches in the world and the best in the UK by Trip Advisor, which has also named Llandudno as one of the top 10 destinations in the UK.
“We had the honour recently of hosting the NATO Summit which has created a wider platform from which Wales’s profile on the world stage can be strengthened. Arguably, one of the key moments from the summit, in terms of promoting Wales came from President Barack Obama’s remarks that he will encourage people to visit Wales. He praised the country’s “extraordinary beauty, wonderful people and great hospitality”. I hope that many will follow in Obama’s footsteps.
“The industry in Wales is looking forward to 2015 with renewed vigour and confidence. There are many exciting developments taking place next year. The Welsh Government has invested in some iconic, reputation changing attractions. Surf Snowdonia, Europe’s first inland surfing lagoon will open next year. There are also a number of other excellent new attractions in place for 2015, ranging from the high adrenalin new zipwire zone and underground trampolines in North Wales, through to the reopening of Dolaucothi Gold Mines in Carmarthenshire and the opening of new developments at our National History Museum, St Fagans. Other planned openings for next year include the Royal Mint’s first ever visitor centre in Llantrisant and a new Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway station in Caernarfon.
“Welsh Government also assisted in the extension of the Llangollen railway line to Corwen, which opened last week.
“We’ve also invested in work to evolve a brand strategy and marketing narrative for Wales, embracing not only tourism but also foreign investment. We look forward to rolling out this work next year. Further funding has recently been announced to develop a new marketing campaign for Germany which will launch in the new year.”
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