ONE of the world\u2019s leading experts on tourism has revealed a new vision to turn North Wales into a “world class” destination for visitors.<\/p>\n
Professor Terry Stevens is working with Tourism Partnership North Wales to make sure North Wales is a destination which visitors will want to return to – again and again.<\/p>\n
He aims to make the region approach tourism in the same way as our successful continental rivals \u2013 such as Croatia, Finland, Italy and Austria \u2013 by promoting \u2018destination management\u2019.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s already under way in Conwy and\u00a0 there are similar plans underway in the other North Wales counties of Wrexham, Flintshire, Denbighshire, Anglesey and Gwynedd including Snowdonia.<\/p>\n
The initiative is a key part of Tourism Partnership’s five-year strategy to turn North Wales into a Top Five UK visitor destination.<\/p>\n
To do that they are aiming to create an \u201cexcellent visitor experience\u201d so that people want to come back to North Wales \u2013 and tell their friends and family to come here too.<\/p>\n
The highly-regarded Professor Stevens is managing director of Swansea-based Stevens and Associates who have worked in 19 countries and completed over 160 projects for a wide range of clients.<\/p>\n
Prof Stevens said: “Destinations are the places which tourists actually consume their tourism experience and we must ensure a totally successful experience at the point of consumption and destination management is the key to that.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cTourism Partnership North Wales is absolutely right in pursuing destination management as a policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are anxious to find the right solutions for their different areas in North Wales and that is what the current exercise is about.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we get people to Wales and they have a bad experience at Llandudno or Llangollen or Llanberis, we have lost them forever, it\u2019s about guaranteeing to get that experience just right.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of countries, some small countries, which practise destination management, we need look no further that Croatia, Finland, Slovenia, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.<\/p>\n
“My aim is the improvement of partnerships and examination of future trends in the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrimarily it is about opportunities that exist from stronger collaborations and a clearer vision, bold and positive branding.<\/p>\n
“Our competitors across Europe all operate destination management models different to our own and we need to learn the lessons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole process we go through is to engage with the private sector, raising their aspirations and confidence levels for the role they can play, to take the leadership.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cIn a province such as the South Tyrol in Austria, in Kitzbuhel they say we need more hotels in the five star category and I can give an example where this has happened, and the hotel has gone from case study to opening in less than one year.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cThe money is there, we have enough resources, but we need to align it to make everything work. Tourism is not a statutory requirement of local authorities, but economic development is.<\/p>\n
\u201cLocal authorities should not do less but focus on the context that will allow tourism to grow, like good planning, clean streets, and good transport.<\/p>\n
Dewi Davies, the Regional Strategy Director of Tourism Partnership North Wales, is a strong advocate of destination management.<\/p>\n
He said: “Destination management is all about good practice which requires cooperation and alignment between the public and private sectors to deliver a quality experience for visitors when they\u2019re here in North Wales.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat includes everything from keeping our streets clean, providing a sense of place, improving highway signage and a lot more besides – you don\u2019t get a second chance to make a first impression.<\/p>\n
“The competition is extremely tough. People can fly out of Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham or London and access over many, many destinations within a short haul so if we don\u2019t continuously improve the offer of our destinations in North Wales then we\u2019ll miss out. We need to grasp this opportunity.”<\/p>\n