09/10/2008 02:12:00
A tourism initiative in the Welsh valleys will receive a timely boost of £9 million in European funding, according to the BBC.
The money, awarded by the EU Convergence Fund, will be poured into schemes announced earlier this year to encourage travellers in five local authorities, including Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly and Torfaen.
Part of the money will also go towards extending certain sections of the Valleys Cycle Network by 25 miles, and will add to a £6 million project to renovate the General Offices at the former Ebbw Vale steelworks in Blaenau Gwent.
The announcement was made by the assembly government in Cardiff as it gets ready to expand its Valleys tourism programme in conjunction with the 2010 Ryder Cup, which will be held in Newport.
The £9 million will add to the £5 million investment that has already been ploughed into visitor attractions in the region in 2008.
Leighton Andrews, deputy minister for regeneration, said: "We have already seen considerable investment in the tourism product, and a raft of exciting plans to develop and enhance visitor attractions are now underway.
"These, together with a number of other projects we are supporting, will make the region far more attractive to day visitors and will help chance perceptions."
It is estimated that the projects will create around 400 jobs, in addition to attracting another 355,000 visitors annually.
The assembly government is also expected to launch its Heads of the Valleys Homecoming Initiative today, which will persuade people from across the world to trace their Welsh roots in 2010.
Heritage Minister Alun Ffred Jones commented: "2010 will be the year when we invite people to find themselves in the Valleys - to find families, to find their family history, to come and visit."
