MPs help to get Wales Tourism Week underway
May 16, 2023
To kick off Wales Tourism Week, two MPs toured Newport’s International Convention Centre (ICC) Wales to see how the giant business was preparing for a year of high-profile conferences and events.
Jessica Morden MP (Newport East), who Chairs the Wales All Party Group for Hospitality, Events and Major Food and Drink Businesses, and nearby colleague Ruth Jones MP (Newport West), were given a presentation on upcoming conferences and ICC Wales event planning for as far as the next ten years. They also saw first-hand how the mammoth operation handled up to 4,000 dinner guests at a time.
“It was lovely for Ruth and myself to meet the ICC Wales staff and a real eye-opener to see close up the incredible state-of-the-art facilities that the centre has on site to handle even the biggest events,” said Ms Morden. “We’ll both be doing whatever we can to encourage potential customers to come to Newport and have a look around.”
Danielle Bounds, ICC Wales Sales Director, said: “It was wonderful to welcome both Jessica and Ruth to the Convention Centre and to see their enthusiasm for what we have done here. Our venue is transforming Wales’ appeal as a destination for business events and we look forward to staging a number of prestigious conferences in the coming months and showing delegates our renowned Welsh welcome and hospitality.”
UKHospitality Cymru Executive Director, David Chapman, who attended the meeting, thanked ICC Wales for their support of Wales Tourism Week and the MPs for taking the time to take a look behind the scenes at such a significant contributor to the Welsh economy: “Many people do not realise that this Centre, and the associated Celtic Collection, provide direct employment for around 1,600 people and thousands more in the local supply chain.
“It’s a huge operation and one that impacts positively on food, drink and accommodation businesses right across south Wales,” he said.