Council News

05 September 2008

Counties’ bid to boost business tourism

Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire could benefit from a new drive to bring more business tourism to the region.

The three counties already work closely together to encourage holidaymakers to the North Wales Borderlands, and are now joining forces with other parts of North Wales to attract more business visitors.

Events like conferences and trade exhibitions are worth millions of pounds to the British economy every year and tourism chiefs are keen to make sure the region gets a bigger slice of the pie.

Cllr Rodney Skelland, Wrexham Council’s Lead Member for Corporate Governance and Regeneration, said: “The North Wales Borderlands is better equipped than ever to host business events.

“We’ve got great facilities, beautiful scenery and we’re very easy to get to thanks to our excellent road and rail links.

“Business tourism can bring in big money. By working together with the rest of North Wales, we can hopefully put Wrexham, Flintshire and Denbighshire on the map as conference destinations and generate new business for the local economy.”

The area can offer a wide range of venues for conferences, trade exhibitions, seminars and business meetings, including hotels, arts centres, university facilities and sports venues.

To help kick-off the campaign, the North Wales Borderlands will be joining Conwy, Anglesey and Gwynedd to promote North Wales at one of the UK’s biggest conference venue exhibitions.

Hundreds of conference organisers are expected at the EventUK exhibition at Birmingham NEC on September 16 and 17, providing an ideal opportunity to promote North Wales as a business event destination.

The campaign to boost business tourism in the region is being co-ordinated and funded by Tourism Partnership North Wales (TPNW), which supports the regional tourism industry with marketing expertise and funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.

For more information, contact Chris Henshaw, Tourism Project Officer 01978 292489