Council staff try extreme sports

Staff in Monmouthshire County Council's tourism team tried extreme sports and activities like paddleboarding, paragliding and pony trekking to promote the latest tourism guide for Monmouthshire and Newport.

The guide is produced by Monmouthshire's tourism section with support from Newport City Council, and the Wye Valley & Vale of Usk visitor guide is the main source of printed information for visitors, providing up-to-date details of what's happening and where to stay in the area.

Taking an innovative approach to destination marketing has long been important to the Wye Valley & Vale of Usk team and this year is no exception, as Mark Jones, Tourism Marketing Officer at Monmouthshire County Council, explained:

"2010 is a big year for the Wye Valley & Vale of Usk.

"That's why this year's visitor guide is bigger, smarter and more special than ever before. And it's available now from your nearest tourist information centre.

"With 2010 being such an important year for the region, not only due to The Ryder Cup but as the centenary of the death of Monmouth-based aviator, Charles Rolls, no effort has been spared to ensure that the publication is as detailed as possible, and touches upon every aspect of Monmouthshire and Newport, including many new experiences for visitors to enjoy.

"It's important that our visitor guide stands out from the crowd and offers information in unusual and interesting ways. For example, rather than simply advising visitors to try out extreme sports and outdoor activities like paddleboarding, paragliding and pony trekking, the tourism team put their money where their mouth is and tried them out at first hand, and at their own risk.

"We all did it in our time and at our own risk, and activities were donated for free by the companies who run the activities so we could give readers a first-hand description of what they are like."

"Our experiences are shared in the new guide, alongside many other human stories which bring some of our best loved places to life."

In the Wye Valley, the Piercefield viewpoints have been restored as part of the Heritage Lottery Funded ‘Overlooking the Wye' project, whilst The Old Station at Tintern will, when it reopens in April, have two replacement carriages with new facilities and displays on the Wye Valley. Walkers are invited to explore the Black Mountains and many other beautiful locations when Monmouthshire's first walking festival takes place in the autumn. And not forgetting the reopening of Monmouth's Shire Hall later in the year, with new interpretation and audio-visual guides, and the year-long Newport Festival.

70,000 copies of the visitor guide have been printed, which will be distributed via direct mail, brochure panels, promotions, business outlets and tourist information centres (TICs). This figure represents a decrease on previous years, largely due to the rise in internet use by potential visitors, as Mark Jones explained:

"In 2008, the online version of the visitor guide was viewed just over 3,000 times. In 2009, that figure soared to over 5,500, following the addition of the live e-brochure edition. And whilst the number of actual visitors to our website remained constant, the increasing quality of the information displayed is shown by the higher numbers of pages viewed and time spent per visit. We'll be aiming to increase our online presence this year with the introduction of a new visitwyevalley.com website."

The 2010 e-brochure is available to view at www.selectbrochure.com/pub/56/ , whilst hard copies of the guide can be collected from TICs nationally. Tourism businesses can also arrange supplies by contacting their nearest TIC.