Wales embraces great outdoors

National tourism board Visit Wales has designated 2020 the Year of the Outdoors for business events. Heledd Williams, Head of Business Events for Visit Wales, announced the thematic year campaign at IBTM World in Barcelona. Williams said the campaign would reinforce the country’s strengths in everything from outdoor pursuits, sports and adventure to mindfulness and wellbeing. Williams said the campaign would celebrate the country’s outstanding natural landscape and wealth of outdoor experiences, including its three National Parks, 600 Castles and its 870-mile Coastal Path which make Wales the only country in the world with a continuous walking path around its entire coastline. The Year of the Outdoors will include two recently secured major international showcases to be hosted in 2020 at the Celtic Manor Resort and the newly opened ICC Wales venue. Meet GB – VisitBritain’s flagship event for the international business events community – will take place in April next year, incorporating themes of wellbeing, nature and sustainability using inspiration from ICC Wales’ woodland surroundings. Wales will also host the International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) in October 2020 – the first time the global B2B event for the golf travel industry has been hosted in the UK. The Principality is home to 200 golf courses. Said Williams: “We are thrilled to be launching the Year of the Outdoors at this year’s IBTM World. Next year will be an opportunity to showcase not only our beautiful landscape but also our connected business and economic strengths that put us at the forefront of developments in themes like alternative energy, the environment and life sciences. Around 58,000 people work in the energy and environment sectors in Wales and rapid innovation is taking place all the time in areas of marine energy initiatives and low-carbon projects. Our landscape and natural environments are key to the success of these economic industries in Wales.”