Tourism chief hold 'positive' meeting with Minister

TOURISM leaders from Mid Wales have held a “very positive and constructive” meeting with the Welsh Government’s minister for business, enterprise, technology and science, Edwina Hart. Mid Wales Tourism’s chairman Anne Lloyd-Jones and chief executive Val Hawkins met the minister in Newtown yesterday to discuss the work of the independent organisation, which represents 550 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and Meirionnydd. Digital marketing, the development of ‘Show Me Wales’, the first pan-Wales tourism app of its type, business support and ongoing work to promote Mid Wales as a holiday destination were all on the agenda at the meeting. Mrs Hart said:... Read More

New MD for Cardiff & Co

CARDIFF & Co has appointed Roger Pride, director of marketing for the Welsh Government, as its interim Managing Director. Mr Pride will take on the role on secondment from the Welsh Government for an initial 18 months when Cardiff & Co’s current MD, Richard Thomas, leaves at the end of next month. Cardiff & Co is a public private partnership which was set up to promote the capital city and its region to the world. Its chairman, Adrian Clark, said Mr Pride’s appointment would help the company build on its successes of the past three years. “Roger Pride is a highly respected and... Read More

Millions to see Visit Wales TV ads

TV adverts focusing on the delights of visiting Wales are being shown to millions of viewers. Having started earlier this week on the Carlton, Central, HTV West and Meridian ITV regions, the ads focus on couples through ‘We Want Piers’, and families with ‘The Darkes Proper Holiday’. Both of the ads are available to view at youtube.com/visitwales. The first showing was during detective drama Above Suspicion on Monday night at 9.15pm - a slot which attracted 5.5 million viewers the previous week. The first wave of TV advertising will run until the end of January. A similar campaign is planned during March with the... Read More

Pete Bursnall, RIP

It is with great regret that last week saw the death of Pete Bursnall. He was a man for all seasons, a true polyglot: an author of cycle, walking and climbing routes and much more again; an avid photographer; an active activity user, from kayaking to mountain biking to mountaineering to mountain walking, he was the very best promoter of Wales' natural environment; a respected spokesman and representative for numerous tourism clusters and organisations, including Welsh Government's recently discarded Ministerial Tourism Advisory Panel and, indeed, the Wales Tourism Alliance's own Board of Directors; a regular user of social media, showing... Read More

Happy New Year

So what does 2012 have in store for us? I think we can rely on difficult trading conditions, reducing customer confidence, increasing unemployment and concerns about the ability of Wales, UK and the Western World’s economies to provide for their electorates. Meanwhile the debate about Europe, the Euro and should we be in or out – shake it all about – of either or both will run and …… run. So that’s the backdrop. We will have a better idea about Welsh Government’s approach to the newly promoted tourism, as informed by SAG (Sector Advisory Group) rather than TAP (Tourism Advisory Panel).... Read More