Wales has a proud industrial heritage: from coal, iron, steel and slate to cotton, wool, copper and tinplate, it has left an indelible mark on our landscapes and culture. It’s part of who we are.
It might surprise you to know that – in this great farming nation of ours – two thirds of Welsh families in the mid-19th century made their living outside of agriculture. A little more than a century and a half ago, Wales was the world’s second industrial nation.
But whilst farming is still a very significant part of our economy, those heavy industries of the past have largely declined or ceased altogether. It could have been a sad end to a glorious heyday. But thankfully this story is far from over: it has just started another chapter.
Here in North Wales, investment – and no shortage of energy and imagination – have kick-started what is a remarkable transformation of some of our most iconic former industrial sites.
The last few years have seen world-class attractions and facilities springing up in the most unlikely of places: on a former aluminium smelter (Surf Snowdonia, the world-first inland surf lagoon), across vast slate quarries (Zip Line Velocity, the world’s fastest zip line) and deep inside the bowels of our mountains in former slate mines (Bounce Below, the world’s biggest subterranean trampoline).
This substantial evolution and transformation of the region – and its tourism offer – hasn’t gone unnoticed. Lonely Planet recently listed North Wales as #4 on their list of top ten regions to visit in the world in 2017, and the readers of Wanderlust Magazine have just knocked The Lakes off its usual Top Dog perch by voting Snowdonia as their Top UK Destination to visit this year.
So where might this story yet go? What’s the next chapter?
Here at Baileys and Partners we only need to look out of our windows to see that the tourism sector in North Wales is both confident and buoyant.
Some might go so far as to say booming. According to the industry body North Wales Tourism, tourism will pump more than £2bn into the North Wales economy this year, and the adventure sector will continue to lead the expansion of the region’s holiday offer.
The Welsh Government, meanwhile, is predicting strong further growth and development and has its sights firmly set on positioning North Wales as ‘a world-class destination’. And there is a sustained and credible effort by the local tourism sector – and no small amount of steely determination – to position North Wales as the UK’s Adventure Capital and divert ever-increasing numbers of holidaymakers from The Lake District and Scotland.
So how are we part of the story? Well, because we are based in North Wales and have built up years of local knowledge and countless strong working relationships, we are able to share unparalleled insight and expertise with our leisure and tourism sector clients. We’re confident that no other professional services and estate agency in the UK is better placed to advise you when it comes to leisure property investment and development in North Wales.
Want to know more? Give us a call or drop us an email. Better still, why not come to North Wales to see what all the fuss is about? We’d love to show you around.
