Welsh tourism numbers on the rise
It boasts castles and coastlines, mountains and moorlands – and figures released today confirm the beauty of Wales is attracting people to make it their holiday destination.
Whether its rural mid Wales and attractions such as Powis Castle and Llanrhaeadr Waterfall, the splendour of Snowdonia and rugged Llangollen or seaside resorts more people than ever are picking Wales for short or longer breaks.
Events such at Llangollen's Eisteddfod and food festival are also bringing in holidaymakers.
Latest visitor figures show that the 'Land of My Fathers' has won more tourists staying for more nights that the rest of Britain.
The weak pound could be one of the reasons for the increase as holidaymakers, many from Shropshire and the Midlands opt for 'staycations'.
The Welsh goverment has also run major advertising campaigns over the last two years.
It billed 2016 the Year of Adventure for Wales in an international marketing project while this year has been the Year of Legends.
The Great Britain Tourism Survey showed that in the 12 months to May 2017 there were 9.657 million overnight visits to Wales by GB residents, with 34.554 million nights spent in Wales.
The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates, said figures indicate that people travelling to Wales are now finding more and more reasons to stay for longer – as the number of nights has increased by nearly five per cent on the previous year.
Mr Skates, who represents the north Wales Shropshire border area, said that in comparison, the number of nights spent in the rest of Britain has decreased by 3.2 per cent.
He said: “These indications are very positive for 2017. In what is an extremely competitive market place, tourism in Wales is in a strong position and these figures continue to reflect the success we have experienced over the last two years.
"In addition to this, 87per cent of respondents in our tourism barometer survey undertaken in June said they were confident about how their business would perform over the summer.
"We will continue with our campaign work to ensure that we make the most of the opportunities to attract those looking to holiday at home due to the weak pound.”
