Newsletter | Press Releases

• In 1999, Wales received one million overnight business visits to and within Wales, resulting in an expenditure of £160 million.
  
• A total of 0.8 million of these were taken by UK residents to and within Wales, which resulted in an expenditure of £95 million.
  
• Around 157,000 trips were taken by overseas visitors in 1999 resulting in a spend of £63 million.
  
• Overseas business visitors to Wales spend more and stay longer than domestic business visitors with an average spend of £401 per trip – three times as much as the average business visitor spend of £119 and nearly four times as much as the leisure visitor at £104.

• The WTB Business Travel Unit websites can save conference planners up to 40 per cent on venue bookings. The websites are designed to guide organisers through the variety of venues Wales has to offer so they can find a place suitable for both event and budget.
  
• Conwy Business Centre opened in Easter 2001, catering for 200 delegates and offering five other meeting rooms. Video conferencing is available with three ISDN lines. It is 40 minutes from Holyhead and 80 minutes from Manchester.
  
• Castell Deudraeth - a Grade II listed 19th Century House in Portmeirion has been totally refurbished. It offers 11 spacious rooms and luxury suites. Guests can dine in the new brasserie that specialises in seafood.

• Over 5,000 hotel rooms are available within a five mile radius of Cardiff’s two main purpose-built conference venues, Cardiff International Arena and St David’s Hall
  
• A total of 3,000 hotel rooms with en-suite and 9,000 other rooms are located within one mile of North Wales’ Theatre and Conference Centre – the largest conference venue in North Wales. The theatre has a 1,500 seat auditorium and the Conference Centre caters for 1,000.
  
  

• Millennium Stadium, Cardiff: The £121 million Millennium Stadium is Europe’s largest retractable roof arena, with a capacity for 72,500 spectators. It boasts 125 hospitality rooms and six banqueting suites for corporate entertaining for 20-380 people. The design of the stadium is so versatile that it can also host large scale exhibitions
• St David’s Hotel and Spa, Cardiff: Offers 132 guest rooms, 10 function rooms all with natural daylight, video conferencing facilities and a 24 hour business centre. The hotel has a Hydrotherapy Spa with more than 12 treatment rooms
• Hilton International, Cardiff: The city’s largest capacity hotel. The 197 bedroom five star hotel is located in the city centre overlooking the castle and civic centre.
• Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff: The main arena offers organisers 4,500 sq metres of purpose built exhibition space or can alternatively accommodate 500 to 5,500 delegates using flexible seating layouts. This is complemented by 40 meeting areas, ranging from executive boardrooms for two to conference suites for up to 400 delegates.
• The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport: One of Europe’s largest residential conference, leisure and golf venues, offering a dedicated entrance, 24 breakout and meeting rooms, video-conferencing, business centre, registration areas and organisers` offices. The Caernarfon Suite accommodates 1,500 delegates theatre style or 770 for banquets. Corporate hospitality activities include golf, spa, leisure, quad biking and archery among others.

• The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Carmarthen: The first to be built in Britain for 200 years and boasts the largest single span glass house in the world. A conference can cater for 80, two smaller meeting rooms are available for 30 delegates each and the main glasshouse is available as an unusual setting for a dinner for 200.
• The Dylan Thomas Centre, Swansea: A sensitively restored Georgian building with state of the art conference facilities, just minutes from the 99 room Forte Posthouse and the 117 room Marriott Hotel

• Llangoed Hall, near Brecon: A five star hotel owned by Sir Bernard Ashley offers conferences a touch of class in the heart of Mid Wales. Twelve people can be seated in the boardroom, while the library caters for 20 and the Orangery caters for 50.
• The Metropole, Llandrindod Wells: Has 14 conference suites, exhibition facilities and 122 ensuite bedrooms. It can cater for groups from six to 350 with secretarial support and audio visual equipment on hand to help. Leisure facilities are available in the pool and health suite.

• North Wales’ Theatre and Conference Centre, Llandudno: The largest conference venue in North Wales, this modern complex boasts a 1,500 seat auditorium in the theatre and a room able to cater for 1,000 in the Conference Centre. Close to Manchester International Airport
• The Imperial Hotel, Llandudno: Its proximity to the North Wales Conference Centre means the Imperial Hotel often acts as the headquarters for events taking place at the centre. The 100 room Victorian style hotel has four meeting rooms and four syndicate rooms that have recently been upgraded

• Private tour of the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
• Behind the scenes look at the Welsh National Opera
• Ghost tours at Tredegar House, Newport
• Playing golf at The Celtic Manor Resort, Newport - Wales’ official candidate venue for 2009 Ryder Cup
• Steam and Cuisine on the Ffestiniog Railway, where a 65 minute journey through the Snowdonia National Park is accompanied by a gourmet meal and entertainment by a Welsh Choir
• Tour of old mining works by former miners at the Big Pit Mining Museum at Blaenavon.
• Tour of Llanerch Vineyard where Cariad wines are estate bottled.
• A whole host of adventure activities, including hot air ballooning over Swansea Bay, enjoying a day at the race at Chepstow Racecourse, coast steering over the rugged terrain of the Pembrokeshire coast, taking part in the Brecon Beacons Adventure Challenge which includes river walking, traversing waterfalls and doing death slides down Black Mountain ravines.

• The waterfront development at Cardiff Bay has already attracted £240 million of private investment over and above the £2.4 billion funding already allocated to the regeneration project
• Major refurbishment of Cardiff city centre, including Cardiff Central railway station which has been completed thanks to a £10 million investment programme
  

• Cardiff Castle: Historic castle in city centre dating back to Roman times. Hosts 120.
• National Museums and Gallery Wales, Cardiff: Houses the most impressive collection of French impressionist art outside Paris. Hosts 280.
• Cardiff City Hall: an impressive Portland stone building that has hosted royal banquets. Hosts 450.
• Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay: A traditional wooden Norwegian Church, where Roald Dahl was baptised. Suitable for smaller, more intimate events.
• Techniquest, Cardiff Bay: One of Britain’s leading hands-on science centres. Able to cater exclusively to companies during the evening up to 100 people for a sit down meal or up to 300 people for a buffet. As part of the arrangement, companies can have full use of the science exhibitions - which includes many "hand's-on" and interactive science based exhibits. In addition, Techniquest has a seminar room that seats 100 theatre style with full AV equipment.
• Gwesty Portmeirion Hotel, Portmeirion, North Wales: The brain child of Sir Clough William Elis, this pastel coloured hotel and surrounding Italianate fantasy village was used in the TV series, the Prisoner. Holds 100 theatre style and has three meeting rooms and three syndicate rooms. Castell Deudraeth - a Grade II listed 19th Century House in Portmeirion has been totally refurbished. It offers 11 spacious rooms and luxury suites.
• Ruthin Castle, Ruthin: Has 136 bedrooms, four meeting rooms and two syndicate rooms. Can hold a maximum of 140 seated, theatre style.
• Y Tabernacl, Machynlleth: A former Wesleyan Chapel with original pitch pine pews, Y Tabernacl was converted in 1986 as an auditorium for concerts seating 400.

• Cardiff is less than two hours from London by a fast and frequent rail service and less than three hours by road along the M4.
• Cardiff International Airport is situated 19 km from Cardiff and services direct scheduled flights from Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast, Brussels, Channel Islands, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Man and Paris
• Newport, south east Wales, is 90 minutes by train from London
• Llandudno, North Wales, is well connected by road to Manchester Airport and Liverpool – both of which are an hour away.
• Swansea is 2 hour 45 minutes train journey from London or around 3 hours 15 minutes on the motorway from London Heathrow
• Llandrindod Wells, at the heart of Mid Wales, is easily accessible from Birmingham
• Five sea ferry services operate between Ireland and Wales