Twelve months ago, the Wrexham County Borough Council Tourism team, along with North Wales Tourism, welcomed a delegation from JATA and took them to Chirk Castle and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct as part of a three-day tour of North Wales.  It was a wet & windy Sunday – but their representatives were taken back by the magnificence of both sites.

 

Previously, the inbound Japanese tours from Edinburgh and London had skirted much of North East Wales and only took in Conwy.

 

Following this visit, JATA have now included Chirk Castle and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on a ‘legendary’ route from Manchester Airport called “The Roads of Castles in Wonderland”.

 

It’s great news for the County and Destination Manager at Wrexham County Borough Council, Joe Bickerton said; “We were all thrilled earlier this autumn when JATA announced this new route.  North Wales Tourism have been instrumental in championing our offer here in the County and it was a pleasure to welcome JATA to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct last year.  Whenever we take new visitors to Chirk Castle or across the Aqueduct, the largest in Europe – they are amazed by the scenery, the heritage story and the welcome they receive.  It’s been another record-breaking year for tourism in Wrexham with over £115m now being spent by visitors and with more international trade coming in – this will really attract more positive attention for our great County.”

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Managing Director of North Wales Tourism Jim Jones added: "Japanese tourists used to by-pass north Wales but not anymore. The route will start in Newtown and come up through Chirk, Wrexham and Ruthin, before heading to Conwy and Llandudno.”

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"We have worked hard to promote the region and as a result we have seen a sharp rise in the number of Japanese tourists visiting North Wales," he said.  One of the main reasons for the dramatic rise in our fortunes as a tourism destination is that North Wales is at the epicentre of the growing adventure holidays market and is earning recognition as a world leader thanks to developments like Zip World and Surf Snowdonia."

 

Tourism in Wrexham County has taken a significant upward turn since gaining World Heritage Site Status in 2009 for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal and during this period, Japanese Tourism has steadily grown at the Aqueduct in particular as the site has gone onto bucket lists around the world.  This year, between March – October, the tourism team at Wrexham County Borough Council estimate that around a dozen coaches per week visit (600 overseas passengers) as part of a UK itinerary from Edinburgh to Heathrow.

 

Added to this, next year (2019), Henan airways start a direct route from China and Cathay Pacific from Japan in to Manchester which should put North Wales in a stronger position to receive more overseas traffic.