Tourists say North Wales is friendly destination

Mar 11 2010 by Richard Down, North Wales Weekly News

TOURISM chiefs believe North Wales has got the warmest welcome in the UK.

The results of a survey of visitors by Visit Wales and Tourism Partnership has produced a highly positive image of our relationship with tourists.

It follows surveys by Visit Wales last year which reported visitors’ impression of the region as unfriendly, rude and old-fashioned.

The latest results, however, reveal that 90% of visitors said the people here are friendly and 87% had a warm welcome.

Andrew Forfar, Tourism Partnership business development manager, said the results were a source of pride.

“I can’t imagine there are many places in the world that can boast such a wonderful success rate and we like to think North Wales has the warmest welcome in the UK,” he said.

“What it tells us is that we are doing a lot of things right in relation to tourism.

“If we compare where we are now to where North Wales was 10 years ago, the quality of accommodation, attractions and service have improved dramatically.

“The secret to our success is working with the trade and local authorities. They have bought into the whole concept and their contribution has been immensely important.”

Previous criticisms played on the Welsh language as a barrier to English visitors, something perceived as being rude.

But Aaron Jones, of Cymuned and internet language trainers Say Something in Welsh, warned survey figures need to be treated with caution.

He said: “We have a potentially less than useful situation if you have one survey saying people are friendly and another saying we’re unfriendly. It makes you wonder about the value of either.

“Having said that, the Welsh language issue is about education and awareness.

“Today we have people actively travelling to Wales to be immersed in Welsh language and to hear it spoken.

“There is a slowly increasing awareness that Welsh is a unique selling point. The language should be used as a marketing tool by those in charge of tourism.

“The most valuable welcome any culture can give is being open and sharing its values and difference.”

Now tourist chiefs are aiming to increase visitor spending to £2bn annually to propel North Wales into the top five UK destinations for tourists.