Wales entices travellers, for tourism and business

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A visit to Wales may or may not result in you bumping into Tom Jones, but there are several other activities that will tempt travellers into visiting the region, officials from Cardiff Airport have remarked.

Speaking to Khaleej Times in an exclusive interview, Debra Barber, managing director of Cardiff Airport, said: "We are building on our aviation connections in the UAE and are raising the profile of Wales as a destination."

"Wales is a very compact country, but it has a lot to offer; we have a very vibrant capital city with a world class sport scene, culture and shopping. There are fantastic beaches along the south coast, national parks with mountains, and a lot of adventure related outdoor activities for families. And we also have a lot of castles that visitors are always eager to see," she said.

Spencer Birns, aviation and business development director at Cardiff Airport, added: "What is always interesting to us is that a lot of tourists come to Wales from all over the world specifically because they have seen it in popular culture. We welcome a lot of Doctor Who fans, people hoping to run into Tom Jones and a lot of people eager to see the BBC activity in the region. Music is a very big attraction for visitors as well, since Wales has a very active theatre and opera scene as well."

Birns also noted that while Wales welcomed a large number of visitors from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, officials were increasingly working on attracting more visitors from the UAE. "We have recently identified that with travelers from the UAE, there are a lot of collective decisions being made by different family members. A lot of the decisions being made are influenced by the kids and wives in the family, and we are working on tapping into those specific audiences. We are looking into offering more activities that can be enjoyed by the younger demographic of travelers."

He added: "One of the things that we have as a benefit, that consumers are very eager on, is that we are much more cost effective as a destination; we offer a lot of value for money. Lots of families from the Middle East are coming to Wales, and staying for long periods of time; some even for the whole duration of summer.

He further explained that the average length of stay of North American visitors was two weeks, while European visitors stayed between three to 10 days on average. "GCC nationals tend to stay for much longer, so we are focused on providing them with a place to stay that is well connected with the rest of the UK. Wales welcomed 18,000 visitors from the GCC in 2013, and this number has been growing."

Barber also noted that the UAE is strategically a very important region for Wales. "Outside of Europe, the UAE is the region where Wales has the most business interests; those business links lead to leisure links because travellers that come to Wales get a good idea of what Wales has to offer, and so decide to bring their families and friends for a leisure trip," she explained.

Welsh exports to the GCC states recently amounted to $14 billion, growing six-fold in just 10 years.

"Our focus is not just on leisure tourism, we offer an all encompassing tourism package. We have a lot of business to business activities and offer a lot of opportunities for trade, and it is these activities that generate tourism for the future," Birns said.