Press Release!: Deputy Minister To Speak At Tourism Conference

Wales’ Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Ken Skates, will be visiting Mid Wales next month to speak at a major regional tourism and business conference.

Mr Skates will open the annual conference organised by MWT, an independent organisation that represents 600 tourism and hospitality businesses in Powys, Ceredigion and Meirionnydd, at The Metropole Hotel, Llandrindod Wells on March 19.

This year’s conference, which is being held during Wales Tourism Week, is themed “Boosting the bottom line” and will focus on ways of saving businesses money, enhancing the customer experience and branding.

There will also be a series of case studies from successful tourism businesses of all sizes who will shared some of the secrets of their success.

One of the speaker is Anthony Climpson, OBE, employment and tourism manager with New Forest Destination Partnership, which has founded www.FairBookingUK.com in collaboration with Cumbria Tourism and Visit Cornwall


The partnership encourages customers to book direct with the business using the Fair Booking route, thereby saving local businesses hefty commission fees charged by booking channels.

Participating businesses agree to provide the best deal to customers who book direct and also throw in complimentary extras as a bonus. In return, the businesses agree to make a donation of a set value to a charity of their choice for every direct booking made.


MWT’s chief executive Val Hawkins is expected to make an announcement at the conference about the launch of Fair Booking Wales for tourism businesses across the country.

The other speakers include Adrian Greason-Walker, executive director of Wales Tourism Alliance, who will discuss the need to be politically competitive and Phil Raynsford, executive director of People 1st, who aims to inspire delegates with five top tips to create the ‘Wow’ effect.

There will also be a supplier showcase titled ‘Gaining Competitive Advantage’ before lunch and a successful Mid Wales tourism business will be showcased in the afternoon.

“No matter how big or small your business is, this conference is a day not to be missed,” said Mrs Hawkins. “The last couple of years has been tough on some businesses, but not all


“Delegates will find out which businesses are thriving during these times of austerity and hopefully take away solutions for their own business. We aim to cover topics that matter most to tourism businesses and the case studies are selected from business of all sizes to make them relevant to all delegates.”

The conference has been timed to coincide with Wales Tourism Week, an initiative led by the Wales Tourism Alliance to highlight to politicians at all levels the importance of the industry to the Welsh economy.


Early bird tickets may be booked online at http://ow.ly/K0Goh at a cost of £12 for MWT members and £18 for non-members.

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