A draught plan to increase tourism includes initiatives including a new application to host City of Culture, the opening of a football museum in Wrexham, and enhancing the international attention given to the city.
According to estimates, the visitor economy will generate £135 million in direct and indirect spending for the Wrexham County Borough economy in 2019.
It is reported that even though this decreased during the pandemic, £101 million was still invested in the neighborhood’s economy in 2021.
The growth in stay-cations and people’s decision to spend more time at home are the main causes of this.
The draught 2023–26 Destination Management Plan will be presented for comments tomorrow, and members of the employment, business, and investment oversight committee will also have the option to compare and discuss the status of the previous plan.
The document will eventually replace the pre-pandemic strategy, which saw a significant change in the tourism environment.
The report that must be presented to council members tomorrow lists many upcoming developments that the new draught management plan “will support the delivery of.”
These commitments include making a candidacy for City of Culture 2029, gaining increased funding for the World Heritage Site, developing the Football Museum, and building on the success of the Wrexham Football Club and the Disney+ documentary series.
The draft plan, which can be viewed in full here, says: “Developing a destination, building awareness of it, and establishing its position in the marketplace is a long-term process –one that takes decades.
“This three year plan should be regarded as part of a longer and wider process. There is a need to continue the activity of the previous Destination Management Plan – much of it remains valid and needed.
“However, the plan needs to recognise the transformational nature of recent developments, looking forward to new opportunities that should be explored and exploited to develop Wrexham County Borough as a visitor destination.
“The action plan identifies two types of project –maintenance (i.e. continuing to undertake the basics of destination management) and catalytic (projects that have the potential to further transform the destination).
“It further refines them into ‘must do’s’ and two ‘nice to have’ categories. Our aspiration over the next three years should be to achieve significant progress with at least two ‘catalytic’ projects.”
The table of the projects and a priority guide can be viewed below.
Details are also provided on the current offer to visitors and how this can be expanded – with the focus moving towards rural explorers and ‘Play Wrexham’ in the new draft management plan.
This will target groups within both a 45 minute and 90 minute catchment area.
The report states: “The development of Wrexham County Borough needs to be realistically focused on the needs and motivations of our potential visitor markets.
“We attract a number of different markets. Some of these are non-discretionary (e.g. business visitors) or semi-discretionary (e.g. visiting friends and relatives and some leisure markets –e.g. for certain events) and difficult to influence.
“Leisure markets are more discretionary and will be coming for a range of different reasons –such as sightseeing, walking and cycling in the rural areas, and shopping, entertainment and events in Wrexham city.”
In terms of the city centre the draft plan acknowledges that there are challenges, with the report stating that it currently “lacks a strong pull.”
This indicates that those who travel to the county borough’s rural areas are more likely to go to Llangollen, Chester, Shrewsbury, and Oswestry than they are to go into the city centre.
There are a number of new projects in the works that the local administration anticipates will boost tourism in the city centre over the course of the following three to five years.
This comprises the Chapter Court dining establishment, the Football Museum for Wales, a calendar of events in the city centre, as well as the Gateway and Wrexham Football Club expansions, which could result in the construction of new lodging, transportation, and conference centres.
By 2024, the Racecourse Stadium also intends to increase its seating capacity to more than 15,000.
The article mentions an additional extension of the city’s offer and says:
With partners including Glyndr University and Wrexham Football Club, investigate the creation of an exclusive indoor multi-purpose arena for meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and performances.
Support the development or improvement of event venues in the city centre and actively publicise their schedules.
Ensure that the hotel and other tourism-related parts of the Wrexham Gateway project satisfy the needs specified in this plan.
A location must be managed as a complete, taking into account every step of the visitor journey, from piqued interest through actual visits and departure, according to the research.
“Whilst the development of capital facilities and event programmes are crucial, they can be let down by the supporting factors which are an important part of the visitor experience.
“These include those elements generally understood to be part of the visitor economy (accommodation, catering, retail, information services) but also basics such as parking and wayfinding.
“A key issue at a national and local level is the recruitment of staff into the tourism sector. Whilst the issues may be national, solutions will need to be found locally to solve the recruitment crisis and the shortage of staff.
“Good work has been done on enhancing the marketing of Wrexham as a tourism destination. At the same time our brand remains confused, largely due to the diverse and differing nature of the product.”
“The rural areas and city centre offer contrasting experiences and this needs to be acknowledged and considered.
“Wider efforts around branding Wrexham under the overall ‘live, study, visit, invest’ agenda are also underway. We need to consider this dimension as part of taking forward the development of the city as a destination.
“Finally, our UK City of Culture bid has reinforced the reputation of Wrexham as a centre for creativity and play which needs to be recognised incorporated into the marketing programme.
“A major opportunity for global profile has emerged in the purchase of Wrexham Football Club and the upcoming documentary series.”
Tomorrow, Wednesday, December 7, at 4 PM, members of the council’s employment, business, and investment scrutiny committee will be debating the report. The Wrexham Council website will also stream the meeting
