Wales rides the wave as Surf Snowdonia officially opens

The opening of Surf Snowdonia in Dolgarrog in the Conwy Valley this weekend [1 August] gives Wales another iconic adventure tourism attraction and makes it an adventure destination to rival any in the world.

Wales now has the world-first inland surf lagoon, the longest zip line in the northern hemisphere, the biggest zip zone in Europe, giant underground trampolines and world class mountain biking tracks –which are all pulling in millions of pounds worth of revenue to the Welsh economy every year.

The Welsh Government has supported the development at Surf Snowdonia with £4.15 million, an investment which has created more than a 100 jobs, with 13 employees from Dolgarrog itself and many more from the Conwy Valley. The surf park is estimating around 75,000 visitors every year.

The innovative surf facility has been constructed on the site of a derelict aluminium works once owned by global aluminium giant Alcoa and is another example of how tourism is giving a new lease of life to former industrial sites and creating local employment.

The facilities include a separate fun activity pool, a café bar, retail space and coffee shops, an indoor soft-play facility and camping pod accommodation.

Deputy Minister Ken Skates who attended the official opening said:

“The opening of Surf Snowdonia means that the eyes of the surfing world will be on Wales as this iconic attraction opens its doors – making Wales the home of the first inland surfing lagoon in the world with the opportunity to attract international surfing events and the word’s best surfers. Surf Snowdonia is the latest of world-class attractions to open in Wales and will play an important part in our plans to promote Wales as a Year of Adventure in 2016.

“The outdoor activity sector is worth £481 million to the Welsh economy and is growing across the world. 2016 will see us build on a wave of exciting new openings and developments, and over 10 years of ongoing investment to make Wales one of the UK’s leading adventure destinations.”

The surf park is a game-changing facility for the world’s surf scene. It will use unique wave-generating engineering and technology to produce powerful and consistent waves of varying heights up to 2 metres, in a 300m long lagoon. The lagoon itself will be filled by rainwater from Snowdonia mountain reservoirs.  Its development is being closely watched the world over, gives surfing an opportunity of becoming an Olympic sport, especially as Surfing has been shortlisted as a possible extra sport to be included in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.