Brand-new tourism route covering parts of Snowdonia has been launched as part of Wales Tourism Week, which kicked last week. The Slate Valleys Route is one of seven routes developed to promote the North Wales Way. The route comes as a digital map, which is available to download for FREE via visitsnowdonia.info.

The map explores a variety of locations across Snowdonia – from Bethesda to Penygroes. Users of the map will stop at key tourist hot-spots such as Zip World Penrhyn Quarry, the National Slate Museum in Llanberis and the Welsh Highland Railway in Caernarfon.

The new route is part of a brand-new collection of seven maps, highlighting some of the unmissable, key tourism hot-spots in North Wales. Teaming together for the first time, the maps have been designed and produced by the four Destination Management Partnerships across North Wales (Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy and North East Wales (NEW) – compromising of Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham). The maps interlink with the 75-mile North Wales Way – one of three national tourism routes launched by Visit Wales under The Wales Way brand.

With a wide-range of hidden gems across North Wales, each map is themed with its own unique route, spanning from Anglesey to North East Wales. On the agenda, users can explore Conwy’s coastal trail, the North Anglesey maritime circular, Gwynedd’s slate valleys and North East Wales’ famous landmarks. Both the science and heritage route and the family activity trail take you through North East Wales’ must-see’s, whilst the outdoor adventure heritage loop shows off the best of what North Wales has to offer – which is renowned for its breath-taking scenery and adrenaline-fuelled adventure activities.

Councillor Gareth Thomas, Gwynedd Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development said:

“I’m delighted that Gwynedd and Snowdonia is an important part of this Wales-wide project. It allows us to build on our strong relationships with neighbouring councils and the local tourism sector in our work to further boost for the local tourism sector. We all know that more and more people use online resources to plan activities and holidays. This innovative project aims to highlight the range of attractions that can be enjoyed in locations across the county all-year-round. As a Council, we believe this campaign will provide a welcome boost for the local economy and help to provide employment opportunities throughout the year.”

The new maps have been a community-effort, as businesses were invited to workshops across North Wales to discuss their ideas for new tourist routes to help promote the region and provide loops and detours off The North Wales Way.

The maps are part of a wider tourism campaign launched by the North Wales local authorities, who -together with funding from Visit Wales and the Regional Tourism Engagement Fund (RTEF)- put efforts in to boosting tourism figures during the winter months, which have previously been lower than desired.

The campaign proved successful with local businesses, with plenty of positive reaction and willingness to use the #DiscoverNorthWales hashtag across their social media channels. The popular hashtag is still live across social media and is regularly used to promote the area.

The theme of this years’ Wales Tourism Week is “Strength through Partnership”, which reflects the efforts made by both North Wales local authorities to engage with the tourism industry in the region throughout the whole campaign – with the aim of working together to realise the economic benefits of promoting the region as a whole, and capitalising on opportunities offered by The Wales Way.

Richard Wyn Huws from Pant Du Vinyard and Orchard said: