A strategic plan to protect Wales’s heritage has been published by the Welsh Assembly.
Heritage tourism plays a major role in the Welsh economy and employs more than 30,000 people.
Wales is home to 30,000 listed buildings, 4,000 scheduled ancient monuments and three world heritage sites.
Heritage Minister, Huw Lewis said the strategic plan would “sustain the distinctive character of Wales’s landscapes and towns and help people understand and care about their place and history”.
Unlike the City of Stoke-on-Trent, which allowed Chatterley Whitfield Mining Museum and Ceramica to close, Wales values its heritage and has used it to create a vibrant, prosperous tourist industry.
Stoke-on-Trent’s plans to turn Burslem into a tourist town are a step in the right direction but they do not go far enough. All the six towns are heritage towns. Each one has its own unique character which would attract a large number of visitors.
A city wide tourist strategy combined with aggressive marketing would make The Potteries a major international tourist attraction.
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