Food Festival Contributes To Rise In County Borough Visitor Numbers

It’s all go in Caerphilly county borough, with recent figures showing that over 1.77 million people visited the county borough during 2015, a rise of almost 4% on the previous year. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Attracting over 10,000 visitors this year, the recent Caerphilly Food Festival is just one of the many successful events organised by the council’s Events and Marketing Team. Not only do these events attract more visitors to the county borough, they also encourage spend which contributes to the local economy in town centres, with shops and cafes bustling throughout the day of the Food Festival. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

It doesn’t stop there; statistics show that the total economic impact of tourism to the county borough is up a massive 4.2% in 2015 compared to 2014. The number of staying visitors to the county borough also increased by 3.1% during 2015, compared to the year before. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Ken James, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Sustainable Development said, “This increase in the economic impact of tourism in our county borough, together with a substantial increase in visitor numbers is testament to the hard work of so many people. We have some truly fascinating attractions, not to mention some extremely popular events which attract tens of thousands of people every year. Tourism is vital to our economy, so it’s very pleasing indeed to see such a marked increase”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The team at the Visitor Centre Caerphilly enjoyed a particularly busy day on the day of the Caerphilly Food Festival, as they unveiled their new outdoor seating terrace. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Martin Cook, Visitor Services Manager said, “Outdoor seating is popular with visitors throughout the year, not just on hot sunny days, and we knew that if we could increase our capacity, the visitors will come”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

When Martin had the idea to expand the outdoor seating area, he was determined to see it happen. He added, “The view across from the visitor centre is certainly one to behold – where else in the country can you sit and enjoy the view of the second largest castle in Britain? The new seating area will sit a further 30 covers, giving the visitor centre an overall seating capacity of 70”. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Visitor Centre Caerphilly is open every day between 10am and 5pm. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​