In the future people visiting Gwynedd are more and more likely to want easy access to tourist information about possible destinations and attractions using online devices in conjunction with traditional Tourist Information Centres.
This is why Gwynedd Council is looking at introducing changes to the way it provides information and assistance to tourists and visitors to the county.
A report outlining possible changes to some of the Council’s tourist information centres will be considered by the Council Board on Tuesday, 23 November. This report follows decisions taken by councillors in December 2009 to change the structure of the Council’s Tourist Information Centres.
Discussions have already been held directly with representatives from the county’s tourism industry regarding the new structure which includes:
- Developing the use of the Council’s tourism website www.visitsnowdonia.info website and the digital marketing platform
- Providing information in the format that today’s visitor wants
- Working together with the local tourism industry to establish a tourism forum for Gwynedd
- Providing service through a network of information centres, information points, sharing space with other businesses and other sectors and the development of the ‘discover Gwynedd’s portal and information points across the county
Councillor Dewi Lewis, who leads on Economy and Community for Gwynedd Council, said:
“Tourism is a vital part of the Gwynedd economy and we are committed to working with the county’s tourism industry to promote Gwynedd as a fantastic location. But, the way people want information about popular tourist destinations has changed completely over the past 15 years.
“Research shows that more and more people these days use the Internet as their main tool to find possible destinations, and that far fewer people visit the more traditional tourist information centres – indeed since 1996 we have seen that the number of people visiting our tourist information centres has almost halved.
“Using the web to promote Gwynedd’s attractions and tourist hot-spots is central to our work and being in tune with what potential visitors to the area want is key.
“By improving our digital platform and ensuring a strong and visible presence for tourist information services within our key destinations, we are responding to these changing demands in collaboration with the industry.”
Indeed, Gwynedd Council’s innovative use of online marketing using its www.visitsnowdonia.info website has recently been acknowledged. The Council’s work in marketing the county as a premier tourist destination through digital marketing was highly commended at the recent National Tourism Awards for Wales 2010.
Gwynedd’s Tourism, Marketing and Customer Care Service is also making innovative use of the internet for all marketing campaigns, using social media like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to let potential tourists to Gwynedd know about special offers and deals. Since it was officially launched in September 2009, the www.visitsnowdonia.info website has seen a 500% increase in visitors and over 1.6 million pages have been viewed.
