27/05/2008 07:37:00
A review of Welsh heritage tourism has recommended that the country should "maximise its cultural icons", the BBC reports.
Officials estimate that cultural holidays in Wales are worth £120 million alone, and that culture should be a primary aspect of tourism development and marketing.
The 165-page report was commissioned by the Welsh assembly government and undertaken by Stevens and Associates. It comes just a week after figures revealed that Wales received three-quarters of a million fewer visitors in 2007 compared to 2006, with poor weather being blamed for the drop.
Welsh officials, however, seem dedicated to reversing this trend. According to the BBC, Rhodri Glyn Thomas - Wales' Heritage Minister - has said that each tourist in Wales should enjoy "a genuinely Welsh [experience] in its content, spirit and sense of place".
Essentially, the report asserts that Wales has a limited number of cultural icons, and should work harder to ensure that the impact of those that do exist are maximised.
Some of Wales' most famous cultural icons are the Millennium Stadium and the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Attractions dedicated to popular Welsh figures, like the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea, have also sparked the imagination of holidaymakers.
In addition, Wales is home to several national parks, including Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons, and high profile summer festivals like the Guardian Hay Festival, held in Hay-on-Wye in Powys.
Mr Thomas further stated: "For tourism in Wales to prosper the country's unique national, regional and local culture has to be fully embedded in all aspects of the tourism economy."
He will meet a group dedicated to promoting cultural tourism in Wales at the Hay Festival, and then monthly over the summer, in order to compile an "action plan" for the country.