Borough Tourism
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Consultants, Team Tourism based in Edinburgh were asked to put forward a Destination Management Plan (DM) for Wrexham.
The plan outlined hubs where it was thought possible improvements to tourism could be made.Two of the hubs in my opinion Chirk Castle and Erddig Hall can look after themselves.Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Wrexham Town Centre were outlined where improvements could help Tourism.
What do the Council take on board from the consultants findings?
The Town Centre parking charges are increased,brilliant idea to keep people away..Pontcysyllte Aqueduct according to the Strategy and Regeneration Manager, internal officers are looking at the possibility of charging for toilet facilities,car parking and an entrance fee at the World Heritage Site,another brilliant idea to drive people away.The Council can come up with £12000k for a sculpture trail,yet cannot find £12000k for changes to parking machines to help the town centre.People that make regular visits, visit a place 1 to 3 times a year. We live in a place 365 days a year. It takes 3 generations to build a sustainable tourist destination. Each day someone visits, we have to get it right, or they simply don’t return, and go to the competition.
Having made those statements, what is the direction we can take from the very credible tourism strategy published by Wrexham for Wrexham in the late 1990’s?
Having considered these points, how do we develop true tourism.
In respect of the £12k a year that is sought to be raised by car parking fees; have we first addressed how the whole £230m Council budget for Wrexham can be better spent yet?
There are no facilities for tourism in Wrexham Town Centre. To attract tourists you need a combination of attractions which make the Town an interesting place to visit, whilst also making access easy. Wrexham does not have a good shopping centre any longer, and its markets, which were once the biggest in North Wales are now almost non existant. There are no facilities for tour buses (should they want to visit) to drop off or pick up or to park.
Pontcysyllte Aquaduct is a first class attraction within the County, but there again there is no proper access for tour buses. I appreciate that there are planning constraints in an area which contains a World Heritage Site, but I am sure that access could be improved with a little thought and planning.
I’m guessing by ‘tourism’ they referring to people from outside Wrexham who visit to shop and/or eat rather than Japanese on an open top bus touring Island Green.
Are they restricting this plan to Heritage tourism?
What about sports tourism? Llandegla Forest is a mecca for mountain bikers and there’s the ‘Ride the Cwydians’ trail and the downhill trail near Llangollen. In fact a North Wales wide plan could link all mountain bike trails together for a mountain biking tourist to enjoy. And road cycling is booming; why not invest in promoting our fantastic on-road routes in the area?
I am sure there will be other sports that have equally attractive reasons for staying in Wrexham or nearby.
@gogledd 11224 wrote:
Are they restricting this plan to Heritage tourism?
What about sports tourism? Llandegla Forest is a mecca for mountain bikers and there’s the ‘Ride the Cwydians’ trail and the downhill trail near Llangollen. In fact a North Wales wide plan could link all mountain bike trails together for a mountain biking tourist to enjoy. And road cycling is booming; why not invest in promoting our fantastic on-road routes in the area?
I am sure there will be other sports that have equally attractive reasons for staying in Wrexham or nearby.
Oh god that’s all we need – more bloody cyclists!
Llandegla and the Forest are over the border in Denbighshire though, so wouldn’t be a destination in Wrexham itself.
What about the Ceirog valley? A natural beauty spot inside the County Borough.
Perhaps we could promote the town centre as Old Town, Wrexham. Keep the big multinationals out & keep the town centre for the locals with minimum rent & rates. I was in the bus station the other day & made the mistake of sitting down. Talk about bum freeze. No signs up to tell you where to catch your bus either.
@feedshallow 11228 wrote:
Oh god that’s all we need – more bloody cyclists!
Didn’t you know… we’re taking over the World!!
Give the right promotion Wrexham could definitely be a MTB/cycling tourists hub. And after all they do spend money
@Born Acorn 11231 wrote:
Llandegla and the Forest are over the border in Denbighshire though, so wouldn’t be a destination in Wrexham itself.
What about the Ceirog valley? A natural beauty spot inside the County Borough.
I think we need to work in conjunction with bordering Counties to the benefit of both. Llandegla may well be ‘over the border’ but logically if you wanted to stay overnight Wrexham would be a good place to stop.
Ceriog Valley could easily be promoted for road cycling; beautiful scenery, picturesque villages, some good roads and for those who like challenging climbs it has those too. For those who prefer walking it has the Maelor Way, Offa’s Dyke path as well as walks along the valley. There’s pony trekking and some sites of geological interest too.
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