Tourism leaders from Chester and Wrexham have pledged to work closer together to bring more visitors to the region and encourage them to stay longer.
In a meeting organised by Marketing Cheshire and Destination Wrexham, and led by Visit England and Visit Wales, they discussed capitalising on Wrexham’s “Hollywood football fairytale” and combining it with the wider tourism offer of Chester, Cheshire and North Wales.
“Wrexham’s growing profile provides a wonderful opportunity for joint marketing projects, not least because of Chester’s proximity and excellent accommodation offer. When you then combine that with the history and industrial heritage both sides of the border, the Unesco World Heritage Sites at Jodrell Bank and Pontcysyllte Aquaduct, when we join forces, we have an outstanding visitor offer,” explained Colin Potts, Chair of Destination Chester, a group of the city’s tourism and hospitality leaders.
“It was great to see so much enthusiasm in the room and a commitment for closer collaboration in the future to attract more visitors and spend to the region that will benefit our tourism and hospitality businesses, and the people they employ.”
At the meeting and workshop were tourism leaders, hoteliers and transport providers. They talked about how they could create more cross border travel packages for visitors, such as sports-themed experiences based around the oldest international football stadium in the world (Wrexham) and the world’s oldest racecourse (Chester).
“Working more collaboratively with our tourism partners in Cheshire is opening up greater opportunities to support the growing visitor economy of both areas,” said Joe Bickerton, Destination Manager, Destination Wrexham.
“With a quick rail-link, and a 15-minute drive time – feedback suggests that many of our visitors take in both cities on a single trip. Therefore, the further we can develop joint marketing campaigns, itineraries, and initiatives to support local hospitality operators in 2025, the more resilient and competitive we’ll become as a regional destination in the UK with something for everyone.”
