Welsh Icons News | Tourism heroes take centre stage

Pictured Jim Jones Managing Director of North Wales Tourism Ltd and David Cattrall Managing Director of Harlech foodservice. Picture Mandy Jones

The heroes of the tourism and hospitality industry in North Wales are to be honoured for their “grit and determination” in surviving the pandemic.

The judges have announced the finalists who will take centre stage at prestigious Go North Wales Tourism Awards at Venue Cymru in Llandudno on Thursday, November 25.

The businesses on the shortlist come from across the region and include Anglesey Sea Zoo, Llechwedd Glamping in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Llandudno Hostel, Manorafon Farm Park in Abergele, the West Arms in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog and the Three Eagles Bar and Grill in Llangollen.

In recognition of the trials and tribulations of the past 18 months, there is also a special new category for resilience and innovation and the shortlisted finalists are the Marine Holiday Park in Rhyl, St David’s Hospice in Llandudno and Llandudno Hostel.

According to David Cattrall, the managing director of the event’s headline sponsor, Harlech Foodservice, the sector’s indomitable spirit will ensure it thrives in future.

The leading food distribution firm, who have bases in Criccieth and Chester, are also sponsoring the Go Caravan, Camping or Glamping of the Year Award and the Go Taste of North Wales Award via the company’s Bwydlyn Butchery which champions premium Welsh meat products.

The awards are returning after an absence of a year because of the Coronavirus crisis and will be hosted by acclaimed BBC journalist Sian Lloyd, who hails from Wrexham.

Organisers North Wales Tourism, who represent around 2,000 tourism and hospitality related companies, were due to celebrate their 30^th anniversary in 2020 and they are hoping to make up for lost time with guests wearing 1990s garb to mark the occasion.

The tourism and hospitality industry in North Wales was flying until the pandemic struck, with annual visitor numbers rocketing to a record 37 million and income reaching an all-time high of £3.2 million.

Pre-pandemic, the sector employed more than 43,000 people and provided one in every seven jobs in the region.

But everything ground to a halt with the imposition of the first lockdown but this summer’s staycation boom proved the appetite to visit North Wales is undiminished.

According to David Cattrall, the scale of investment being pumped into the region was another reason to be optimistic about the future of the sector.

Big ticket items included the £35 million redevelopment of Theatr Clwyd in Mold, the planned £100 million waterfront scheme in Holyhead and the £12 million scheme to redevelop the Waterloo Hotel in Betws y Coed.

Mr Cattrall said: “Our sponsorship of the Go North Wales Awards is very much a vote of confidence in the tourism and hospitality sector which has endured such a horrendous time.

“The evening will be celebrating the achievements of our core customers, so we see this as an opportunity to give something back.

“The sector was among the hardest hit by the pandemic so it’s great to be able to have some positivity once again.

“It’s been a really tough, tough 18 months and I think everybody is looking forward to have a good time and let their hair down.

“The scale of the investment into our tourism and hospitality infrastructure is a clear sign that in the longer term things are looking very good for the future.

“The fundamental reasons why North Wales is such an attractive place to visit are still there and will continue to be in demand in future.

“We have amazing scenery and world class facilities so I am sure the sector will go from strength to strength.

“That means that the tourism and hospitality sector can play a big role in leading the economic recovery in North Wales.”

Jim Jones, the chief executive of North Wales Tourism, said: “We are hugely grateful to Harlech Foodservice for stepping up to the plate as our headline sponsor and for also sponsoring two of the 15 individual categories up for grabs.

“Their support is helping us instill some positivity into the industry because we do need to do something to get away from the doom and gloom of the past 18 months.

“We’re determined first and foremost to recognise all the hard work, the sacrifices, the resilience and the innovation our members have shown,

“This is an opportunity to celebrate a dynamic tourism destination that showcases the best of what we have to offer to the rest of the world.

“The tourism and hospitality sector makes a huge, huge contribution to the North Wales economy and more than 43,000 people depend on it for their livelihoods.

“For me, the priority now is to try to get back up to where we were in 2019 and to increase the spend of the visitors who come here by raising the quality of what we are doing.

“We need to do far more than we’ve done in order to attract the international market because they’re the big spenders.

“We are probably 85 per cent dependent on the domestic market, which is great, but we also need to sell ourselves to the world.

“The grit and determination shown during the pandemic by the incredible people working in the sector will ensure the industry makes the mother of all comebacks and thrives in future.”

Shortlisted finalists

Go Caravan, Camping or Glamping of the Year sponsored by Harlech Food Service