During the trade mission Carwyn Jones AM, First Minister of Wales highlighted the strong and well-established links between the two countries to develop tourism, business, e d u c a t i o n a n d c u l t u r a l opportunities. “I am visiting the country to strengthen the relationship between India and Wales. Every nation in the world is eyeing India and wants a piece of its booming economy,” said Jones adding that the visit is aimed at how the two nations can work together to benefit mutually and ultimately create jobs. Jones is disappointed by the fact that Indians travel to London, Scotland and Ireland, but Wales is still not high in public visibility. “I had an opportunity to briefly interact with the Indian travel trade and I believe we need to educate them about the services and products Wales can offer as an outbound destination. We ourselves need to learn more about the Indian traveler dynamics. I have also realised that tapping the Indian film industry is the best and the most effective way to promote a destination in India. Hollywood movies such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘First Night’ were shot in Wales and Wales is no stranger to Bollywood either, films such as ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham” has been shot in the province.” On what Wales has to offer as an outbound destination he says, “Wales has the highest number of castles per square kilometre in the world and is much more cost effective than London. Wales is full of surprises you name it we have it, right from adventure sports, water sports, art and culture, festivals, Welsh cuisine to golf. Besides, there are over 20 Indian restaurants serving authentic Indian food, this will make the Indian travelers feel at home.” Elaborating on plans to tap Bollywood he said that the scenic Mountain and grand castles in Wales makes it just the right setting for Bollywood style song and dance sequences, but Wales is not only about the scenery, it also has a well-equipped production facility. “BBC has a large production facility in Wales. We don’t offer any tax breaks or perks currently, but there are many reasons to shoot in Wales.” According to Jones, the India connection to Wales is emerging, and will only grow stronger. We have a large number of Indian students in Wales studying an assortment of subjects and we aim to persuade more Indian students to come here. “We receive a lot of VFR traffic from India and it is encouraging to see that Indians consider Wales as a top destination for education.” –
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