North Wales Tourism - Interview with Jim Jones, CEO

In 2019, the Japanese Association of Travel Agents listed Conwy in North Wales as one of the "Top 30 Beautiful Villages in Europe".

Such an accolade will come as no surprise to anyone who has visited Conwy, walked the 700+-year old castle walls, enjoyed a little shopping, cream cake or meal in the old town, taken a picture next to Britain's smallest house, and enjoyed some trekking in the glorious hills that surround the area.

While domestic tourism has always been strong in the summer months, Jim Jones, CEO of North Wales Tourism, has bigger plans for Conwy, and attended the Tourism Expo Japan in Tokyo in 2017 to share this beautiful part of Wales with travel agents and media from Japan and other countries within the Asia Pacific region.

Since then, Japanese visitor arrivals have soared from just 428 in 2016 to over 4,400 in 2018, and with airports such as Manchester, Liverpool and Cardiff attracting more and more international flights, those numbers are set to increase further as Conwy becomes more well known and accessible.

So, with that in mind, Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com got on a train from Euston Station in London and about three hours later was sat in Conwy talking to Jim about tourism to the town and North Wales in general.

In this exclusive interview, filmed in February 2020, Jim tells us how 2019 ended, how that compares to 2018 and what targets they have for 2020.

We discuss visitor arrivals, tourist spending, and why Jim feels that Conwy has potential as a tourism destination for tourists from overseas.

Jim tells us where the international visitor arrivals are coming from, why he has spent so much time trying to build Japan as a key source market, what they are doing to address language issues, how they use technology to promote the destination, and what it is about North Wales that he believes will appeal to tourists from Asia.

Steven asks about international hotel brands and what sort of hotel pipeline there is in the area.

Jim also explains what being the "Adventure Capital of Europe" means, and why he feels that North Wales deserves that title. All that and much, much more in the FHD video and podcast below.

North Wales Tourism - Interview with Jim Jones, CEO

PODCAST

See also: History of Conwy, North Wales - Interview with Councillor Bill Chapman, North Wales Tourism - Interview with Jim Jones, CEO, Hilton to Open Garden Inn Hotel at Adventure Parc Snowdonia, North Wales, Sustainable Inspiration from Farmer Gareth Wyn Jones in North Wales, The Quay Hotel & Spa in Deganwy, North Wales - Interview with GM, Brid Collins, MICE in North Wales - Interview with Richard Jones of venue cymru, Llandudno, What Does Tourism Mean to Conwy, North Wales? Interview with Mayor and Welsh Wine from Gwinllan Conwy Vineyard - Interview with Colin Bennett.

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