It’s been a year since The British Bird of Prey Centre moved to its new site in Idole, Carmarthenshire, in October 2025, and the attraction has welcomed multiple coach groups over the 12 months. Open every day, groups can enjoy three flying shows per day, taking place at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm, in indoor [...]
Abergavenny is set to host the acclaimed touring heritage exhibition, The Longest Yarn: Britain at War, the 80-metre knitting and crochet work that brings Britain’s Second World War story to life. Taking place at St Mary’s Priory Church and opening on 6 May, the work features detailed handcrafted scenes and life-sized textile figures created [...]
Visit Wales is presenting a three-day itinerary exploring gardens in North and Mid Wales. The list features many popular National Trust locations, Snowdonia National Parks’ gardens, plus landscapes in Portmeirion, the charming Italianate-style village. The programme begins at Cwm Weeg near Newtown in Powys, featuring a three-acre formal garden set within 24 acres of [...]
CTA Spring Networking, the Coach Tourism Association’s (CTA) annual Spring business development meeting, gathered 106 industry stakeholders in Cardiff with the event sponsored by Visit Wales and the Welsh Government, supported by Southern Wales Tourism. Taking place between taking place 9-11 May and staged at the Majestic Hotel Cardiff, coach tour operators, wholesalers, and [...]
Wrexham’s leading attractions have combined in a new joint venture to showcase what the county borough can offer, in a campaign supported by Visit Wales. A specially-design trail, suitable for coach groups as well as independent visitors, features eight diverse attractions around Wrexham that could comprise a coach trip and tour programme in the [...]
CTA Spring Networking will take place 9-11 May, sponsored by Visit Wales and the Welsh Government, and supported by Southern Wales Tourism. The business development event is set to welcome over 100 coach tourism stakeholders to Cardiff with over 80 CTA members already signed up. The weekend will also host the organisation’s Annual General [...]
Book your place now for CTA Spring Networking, 9-11 May, taking place in Cardiff and sponsored by CTA Partner member, Visit Wales, with support from Southern Wales Tourism. Hosted at the Majestic Hotel Cardiff (formerly Radisson Blu Cardiff) in the heart of the city, the event will include product development fam trips to Cardiff Castle, Hensol [...]
Dinefwr Blankets, located in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, is presenting guided tours for coach groups where visitors can learn about the heritage of Welsh cloth plus blanket design and weaving. Dinefwr Blankets is known for its modern approach to traditional Welsh blanket design, and its tours offer groups the opportunity to discover Welsh heritage through traditional [...]
The Castle of Brecon Hotel, part of the Coaching Inn Group, has been fully restored inside and out as part of a £3m refurbishment for the Brecon landmark. The hotel is located within the remains of the original Brecon Castle and offers 42 guest bedrooms, a restaurant, bar, and social spaces, which blend modern comfort [...]
Cadw would like to remind coach operators about the advantages of its Tour Operator Scheme when making bookings to its historic properties in Wales. Cadw is the Welsh government’s historic environment service, presenting visitors with a range of special interest sites and buildings. For group visits, the Tour Operator Scheme provides preferential trade rates, two [...]
The Royal Mint Experience at Ynysmaerdy, near Cardiff, has a temporary exhibition in celebration of His Majesty King Charles III’s Coronation Day. The Coronation-themed exhibition features a range of unique objects from The Royal Mint Museum’s collection, hands-on interactives, and a special photo opportunity. ‘Crowned: The Making of a Monarch’ exhibition will run for 12 [...]
Penderyn Distillery has opened its third whisky distillery in Wales, a unique distillery and bottling plant part of a landmark £1 billion transformation program launched by Swansea city council. Penderyn Swansea Copperworks Distillery, which joins the Brecon and Llandudno sites, runs daily tours and will hold masterclasses. There is a shop on-site which opens seven [...]
Llancaiach Fawr Manor is celebrating two prestigious awards from Visit Wales. The historic visitor attraction in Caerphilly borough recently won both the Visit Wales ‘Best Told Story 2023-24’ and the new category ‘Quality Food and Drink 2023-24' accolades, awarded by VAQAS (Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Service) following a mystery shopper visit by representatives of the [...]
Wales is playing at its first world cup for 64 years! This provides an unprecedented opportunity to showcase Wales as a distinct nation on a global stage, especially as it is in a group which also includes England and the USA. There will be a significant Cymru Wales nation brand campaign running throughout the tournament. [...]
Welsh tourism organisations and local authorities provided a very warm welcome to Coach Tourism Association delegates for their Spring Networking event which is likely to lead to a strong boost for tours and excursions to the area. The CTA event was sponsored by Visit Wales with strong support from Southern Wales Tourism who organised a [...]
WOTGA - Wales Official Tourist Guides Association - has welcomed seven new members as accredited Green Badge Tourist Guides for the south east region of Wales which includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport, mid Wales, the Wye Valley and Brecon Beacons. There are also six new guides for south west Wales and ten for [...]
The slate landscape of North West Wales has now become Wales’ 4th UNESCO World Heritage site following more than 15 years’ of hard work by partners to record, safeguard and recognise the living legacy of the slate landscape of Gwynedd locally and worldwide. This new World Heritage Site comprises six distinct areas, known as ‘Component Parts’: [...]
Southern Wales Tourism has launched a wonderful virtual tour video which gives you an insight into all the great attractions and experiences your groups can enjoy in the are. Take a look here - https://www.facebook.com/southernwales/videos/513853993011620
Southern Wales Tourism’s regular Group and Travel Trade Buyers event went online this year with a virtual Meet the Buyers/Fam Visit on 1 July showing off the area in a new film, and giving an opportunity for accommodation, attractions, activities and food & drink businesses to present what they offer. The event featured well-known sites [...]
Visit Wales strengthened its relationship with the Coach Tourism Association by becoming a Partner Member in 2021. The importance of working together on tourism issues and opportunities for Wales in the coach operating sector has been highlighted during the pandemic and Visit Wales is pleased to formalise the already strong relationship with the association through [...]
The latest CTA zoom session took members on an extensive virtual tour of Wales, packed with ideas about attractions and destinations that are keen to welcome coach groups back as the Covid restrictions begin to be lifted. Taking place just a few days before 17 May, which signals a significant moment for operators in England [...]
We hope you can join us for our next zoom session which takes place on Tue 11 May from 11am till noon The focus will be on Wales with a presentation from our Partner member Visit Wales and Welsh businesses about what’s re-opening in Wales, along with new attractions and experiences. With a focus on [...]
The second Live Session - Road to Recovery took place this week and featured presentations from CTA partner member Visit Wales and member Hilton Hotels. The online event kicked off with a roundup of the latest news on preparing for the recovery across the nations with CPT’s Mark Purchase reporting that there was now some [...]
More than 60 per cent of respondents in a survey conducted on behalf of Southern Wales Tourism said that they may include the area in their future programme, with 42 per cent hoping to run tours in 2021, Covid-19 restrictions permitting, and 46 per cent planning for 2022 and 12 per cent for 2023 onwards. [...]
The Welsh government has set out steps for restarting tourism in a staged process from 12 April. From that date, the rules will be changed to allow travel into and out of Wales from the rest of the United Kingdom and Common Travel Area. The Welsh Government also signalled further planned changes ahead including: On Monday [...]
