Source · Select Committees · Welsh Affairs Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Acknowledged
Investigate collaborating with the Welsh diaspora to boost heritage attachment and international visitors.
Recommendation
Visit Wales should investigate working with the Welsh diaspora to increase the diaspora’s attachment to its Welsh heritage, with a view to increasing international visitors to Wales. (Paragraph 40) Role of VisitBritain in promoting Wales
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges support for Visit Wales' work in this area and highlights existing UK government efforts, such as securing UNESCO World Heritage status for the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales and National Lottery Heritage Fund grants, which promote Welsh heritage to attract visitors.
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Although this recommendation is addressed to Visit Wales, DCMS is supportive of Visit Wales’ work in this space and takes our commitment particularly to Wales’ natural heritage very seriously. The UK Government continues to support and represent Wales at UNESCO, most recently supporting ‘The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales’ to successfully become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021. This recognises the Outstanding Universal Value of the rich history and heritage of slate quarrying and mining in Wales at a global level, which aims to contribute to a rise of international visitors. Similarly, one of DCMS’s public bodies, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, continues to deliver a number of grant programmes focused on natural heritage for the Welsh Government. Since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded over £460 million to more than 3,200 projects in Wales – ensuring the Welsh offer remains attractive for the Welsh diaspora and beyond.