Welsh Tourism Success –Its Cultural Identity is the Key

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

As a global tourist destination, the unique cultural identity of Wales is one of its crucial assets, a UK parliamentary committee has heard.

The Welsh Affairs Committee is examining the way it can lift the profile and make the brand of Wales stronger after studies were found that it lags behind England and Scotland in terms of international visitors. Of late, the Nation Brands Index ranked Wales 45th out of 50 countries in regard to overall familiarity.

David Anderson, the director of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, while giving evidence to the inquiry last week, explained that during the museum’s own visitor research, Welsh culture and language had come up as a “very clear and very loud” selling point. “We have been through a process of developing our brand recently and, as part of that, we have consulted internationally as well as within Wales and the United Kingdom,” he said. “There was very interesting feedback from the German consultation process, which was that Welsh culture and the Welsh language are tremendous assets for Wales because they identify distinction, difference, tradition and heritage in a way that nobody else can offer.”

He continued: “I personally would like to see UK tourism, alongside the Welsh tourism industry, looking at the United Kingdom as four nations, each with very distinctive offers to make. I think that will increase the potential tourism for the whole of the United Kingdom, not diminish it or mean that one is feeding off another.”

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