That’s the message from Dewi Davies, the Regional Strategy Director of Tourism Partnership North Wales.
He said: “Tourism generates more than £2 billion pounds a year of spending by visitors. About half of that comes in the main holiday season while it’s estimated the amount of income generated over the long Easter weekend is £80 million.
“When we get this surge of people over the Bank Holiday, it is very important that the n management of destinations is tops and that people enjoy a brilliant experience.
“That’s why many of our tourism hubs have been busy sprucing up the area – first impressions can and do count.
“We are working with partners in the private and public sectors, including all six local authorities in North Wales and the Snowdonia National Park Authority.
“The aim of Destination Management is to create an Excellent Visitor Experience so that people want to come back to North Wales.
“People’s expectations these days are much higher than they’ve ever been. The bar is constantly being raised and it’s vital that North Wales is ahead of the game.
“We’re close to nearly a quarter of the UK population here in North Wales so we are an ideal place for people to escape to.
“We have 16 million people on our doorstep and there’s a strong tradition of people coming here from Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Stoke.
“With the introduction of the new Air Passenger duty increasing the cost of flights from UK airports by an average of eight per cent, North Wales is a great value-for-money destination.
“I think it’s fair to say that staycations are here to stay. We’ve got great attractions and great places for people to enjoy and have a great time.
“On top of everything else we have to offer, we have the traditional warm Welsh welcome.
“A recent showed that 90 per cent of visitors want to come back to North Wales and that 92 per cent of them would recommend coming here to their friends and family.
“But we are certainly not resting on our laurels and the destination management initiative to improve the tourism product is an important part of our campaign to be perceived as a top five UK visitor destination.”
