WIREDGOV

A fresh new TV advert for families will kick start Wales’s marketing for 2015 as the latest phase of Visit Wales’ UK and Ireland marketing campaign - ‘Have you packed for Wales ?’ - went live yesterday.

This latest phase of the campaign encourages people to come to Wales to have an adventure, to explore and to enjoy time together as a family.  The television advert will feature adventure at Caernarfon Castle and dolphin spotting along the Ceredigion Coast.

The campaign includes a new edit of the Marc Evans TV advert which is set to a new song ‘Shout Out’ by up and coming singer/songwriter Kizzy Crawford.

Wales has the makings of the ideal family holiday and is the perfect place to try out new experiences.  There are beaches which are perfect for rock pooling, crabbing, picnics and enough sand to build millions of sandcastles.   Family-friendly, traffic-free cycle paths with plenty of ice cream stops; rivers for gentle paddles in canoes and plenty of family-friendly accommodation with a difference – watermills, lighthouses and even a bunkhouse with a slide from upstairs to downstairs.

Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates, said:

“The family market is very important to Wales, the Great Britain Tourism Survey tells us than children were present on 40% of holiday trips taken by British residents in Wales in 2013, expenditure on these holidays was in excess of £350 million.

“This campaign will concentrate on the family adventures which can be had in Wales and will aim to change perceptions of Wales and raise awareness of the variety of activities and adventure which can be had within our amazing landscape.

“There are plenty of opportunities to try something new for the first time – catching your first fish for a BBQ, soaring through the sky on a zip wire or bouncing on a trampoline in an underground cave, trying out surfing and coasteering for the first time, getting closer to nature and feeding a Red Kite or stepping back in time to visit your first castle.

“I’m delighted that we’ve been able to work with Kizzy Crawford on this advert, showcasing the best of Wales’s new creative talent.”

Kizzy Crawford, who is 18 and grew up in Aberaeron, said:

“I’ve got so many fond memories of family holidays in Wales, my top five shout outs for family holidays would have to include; Poppit Sands; Narberth; Llyn Peninsula ; the Brecon Beacons national park and Beddgelert.  These are all places I visited as a child with my family and hold many happy memories for me.  They're great places for families to visit but are also all very unique and beautiful.”  (Kizzyofficial.com)

This campaign is the beginning of a new wave of marketing activity in the UK and overseas over the next few months which will make the most of this key holiday decision making and booking period in Wales’s key target markets.