The Visit Wales’s new business travel video and DVD, which is being officially launched this week at the Meetings & Incentive Travel Show, has already scooped a prestigious award in recognition of its excellence.

The video, entitled "Wales. Where the World Meets" saw off competition from hundreds of other entrants to be voted Best Video by a panel of experts at Meetings Industry Marketing Awards (MIMA) 2002 held in London yesterday.

Organisations from across the country submitted entries, which were whittled down to three finalists by judges from the industry. At an award ceremony marking the start of National Meetings Week, it was announced that Visit Wales had come top.

After receiving the award, Pat Crimp, WTB’s head of marketing and commercial operations, said: “I am absolutely thrilled. When you are competing with a high calibre of contestants in the meetings industry it really means something to win.”

"Wales. Where the World Meets" is designed to inspire event organisers to use Wales as their first choice for conferences, meetings, corporate hospitality and incentives. The four-minute promotional film showcases the very best that Wales has to offer, highlighting its diversity in terms of conference venues, accommodation and activities.

Pat Crimp added: “The video and DVD has had the thumbs up from the industry – I now hope that they will have the same impact on conference and event organisers and help us to attract a greater share of the business travel market to Wales.”

Jonathan Jones, chief executive of Visit Wales, said: “Business tourism is extremely lucrative. Business travellers, for example, typically spend three times more than leisure visitors and it is one of our priorities to ensure that Wales captures a greater share of the lucrative business tourism market. The DVD and video is part of an overall strategy towards achieving that goal.”

The video and DVD were created and produced by Cardiff-based Golley Slater. Martin Bush, Golley Slater’s art director who was responsible for the project, said: “We had to pack a lot of information about Wales into an interesting narrative form. It had to be bold and strong in order to demand the attention of the viewer and make them intrigued about what Wales has to offer.

"We came up with the idea of a business man looking for inspiration in his office - and finding that inspiration through various images of Wales which entice him to experience it first hand.”

It is the first year of the MIMA awards, which have been organised by Meetings & Incentive Travel to encourage creativity and excellence in the market place. Visit Wales was also shortlisted as finalists for the best direct mail campaign but was pipped at the post by Conference Torquay.

The first official showing of Visit Wales' new business tourism DVD will be at Stand B12 at the Meetings and Incentive Travel Show in ExCel on 19 and 20 June. Also at the stand will be some of the WTB’s partner organisations including the Newport Conference Bureau, the Vale Hotel Golf and Country Club and the North Wales Conference Centre.