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Visit Wales ( cy, Croeso Cymru) is the

Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( cy, Llywodraeth Cymru) is the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of ministers and Minister (government), deputy ministers, and also of a Counsel General for Wales, counsel general. Minist ...

's tourism organisation. Its aim is to promote Welsh tourism and assist the tourism industry.

History

The Wales Tourist Board was established in 1969 as a result of the Development of Tourism Act 1969 and its role was enhanced following the Tourism (Overseas promotion) (Wales) Act 1992. An 'Abolition Order' was passed by the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

23 November 2005 and full transfer of functions into the Welsh Assembly Government was made 1 April 2006. On that day, the Wales Tourist Board ceased to exist. Visit Wales changed their prominent campaign of "Visit Wales" in late March 2020 due to the high numbers of visitors from Wales and the United Kingdom to tourist hotspots to "Visit Wales. Later." Additionally they stated, "Please do not visit Wales at this time and avoid all unnecessary travel within Wales." Visit Wales has taken over the functions of the former Wales Tourist Board, an Assembly Sponsored Public Body. The role of Visit Wales is to support the Welsh tourism industry, improve

tourism in Wales Wales is an emerging tourist destination, with 9.39m visitors to Conwy alone in 2018 and 8,078,900 visitors to National Trust and Wales Tourist Board destinations in 2002. As of 2017 the tourism industry in Wales has been estimated to have an annu ...

and provide a strategic framework within which private enterprise can achieve

sustainable growth Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desi ...

and success, so improving the social and economic well being of

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The mission of Visit Wales is to "maximise tourism's contribution to the economic, social and cultural prosperity of Wales". The baseline budget at the Wales Tourist Board for 2005/2006 was £22.6 million. Its stated goals are: to grow a stronger and more defined brand for tourism in Wales; to focus investment and innovation in tourism; to drive an increase in visitor volume and value to Wales each year.

Welsh tourist industry

Tourists spend over £8 million a day on trips in Wales, amounting to around £3 billion a year. In direct terms, tourism contributes 3.7% of whole-economy value added in Wales. Approximately 100,000 people in Wales are employed in tourism, representing about 9% of the workforce. Over one million trips are taken to Wales annually by overseas tourists. The general United Kingdom accounts for 93% of tourism trips to Wales. Seventy percent of tourists to Wales come from other parts of the United Kingdom for a holiday, 20% to visit friends or relatives and 7% for a business trip. Fifty percent of trips by UK tourists to Wales go to the

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are desc ...

or small

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

. The most popular origins of overseas visitors are

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

, United States, and Germany. The most popular activities undertaken by tourists in Wales are: walking, swimming, visiting historic attractions such as castles and visiting museums and galleries. The most popular attraction in Wales is the

Museum of Welsh Life St Fagans National Museum of History ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, links=no), commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in Cardiff chronicling the historical lifestyle, cultur ...

which attracts over 600,000 visitors annually. In serviced accommodation in Wales, there are over 80,000 bed spaces available.

Tourist Information Centres

There are 65

tourist information centre A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center, tourist information center, is a physical location that provides tourist information to visitors. Types of visitor center A visi ...

s around Wales, offering local information, accommodation booking services and other services. This network of centres offers a service to the 13 million visitors that come to Wales every year. They are run by over 40 different managing authorities and Visit Wales co-ordinates the network to set and monitor standards of presentation, information and customer care.

References

External links

Global website - www.visitwales.com
- The official guide to places to stay and things to do in Wales.
Welsh Government - Tourism
{{Tourism in the United Kingdom Welsh Government Economy of Wales Machynlleth Welsh Government sponsored bodies Tourist attractions in Wales Welsh executive agencies Tourism in Wales Tourism organisations in the United Kingdom Tourism agencies

History

Welsh tourist industry

Tourist Information Centres

See also

References

External links