The Tourism Society - People in all the right places

Tourism Society Wales Network announce today an annual award to support the professional development of an individual working in the tourism industry in Wales. The purpose of the award is to provide the opportunity for an individual to develop a project, which will progress tourism in Wales. The award will be made annually to a maximum value of £5000.

Launching the award at their annual summer lunch, Tourism Society Wales’ Chairman John Walsh-Heron explained:

‘As well as supporting to the professional development of the individual applicant their project is expected to have practical application/s for the tourism industry and contribute to the corpus of knowledge for the tourism industry in Wales’.

Welcoming the announcement of the award, Wales Tourism Alliance’s Chair, Chris Osborne, commented:
‘I am delighted to hear of support for the professional development of individual committed to working in the Welsh tourism industry’.

The deadline for applications is 1 September 2010.  The inaugural award winner will be announced at the Wales Tourism Alliance Annual Conference 2010 on Friday 22 October 2010. Further information on the award criteria and how to apply please click here

For further press enquiries contact John Walsh-Heron:
Email: jwalshheron@btconnect.com Tel: 029 20755974 or 07710537140

This press release is also available on TravMedia

NOTES FOR EDITOR

Professional Development Award Criteria
The Award will be made annually to a maximum value of £5000

Applications will be expected to be innovative and creative.

The proposed project must contribute to the professional development of the individual applicant as well as to the corpus of knowledge for the tourism industry in Wales.

Proposals can be associated with other academic or business projects but all information relating to the PDA must be made public and will remain in the public domain.

The project is expected to have practical application/s for the tourism industry in Wales

The Tourism Society
Established in 1977, The Tourism Society is the leading forum for professionals working in all sectors of the dynamic and diverse travel & tourism industry.

The Tourism Society is dedicated to raising professional standards in a fast-growing global industry.

With a varied programme of nationwide meetings led by key industry figures, a quarterly journal with thought-provoking articles about hot topics in tourism, and a membership whose views help shape national and regional policy.

Tourism and the Welsh Economy
Tourism related employment in Wales in 2007 was circa 100,400 full and part time employees (provisional figures).

In direct terms, tourism contributed 3.2% of whole-economy value added in Wales (2002). It is important to note that this figure does not include indirect value added that occurs.

In 2008, overnight visitors to Wales spent just over £ 1.7 billion.

The most recent day visitor survey indicated that yearly expenditure attributable to tourism trips amounted to £1.5 billion. 
Source: Visit Wales