Big increase in tourists to town

If figures shared by the town’s Tourist Information Centre (TIC) are anything to go by, Welshpool is enjoying a bumper year for tourism.

The centre says in the six-month period from April through to September, around 31,500 people had visited the facility, compared to 34,200 for the previous 12 months.

While the summer’s Eisteddfod in Meifod has undoubtedly made an impact to the area as a whole, civic leaders say the town can be proud of its visitor growth.

Councillor Graham Breeze said: “Footfall figures at the town’s tourist information centre have gone through the roof. There is no doubt that this year’s figures at the centre are skewed because of visitors to the National Eisteddfod at Meifod over the summer, but there are clear indications that things are on the up.”

The TIC breakdown shows that 7,500 visitors were from abroad with 22,000 from other parts of the UK and 1,800 classed as local. And there have already been almost 10,000 more visitors to the centre this year than there were in the whole of 2013.

Councillor Breeze added: “The shops in the main street have mainly reported an increase in footfall and business, although some others, mainly in the side streets, are reporting a lower footfall.

“But even though the increase in tourist information centre visitors doesn’t necessarily translate into business for the High Street, the town, from both the figures and the reports at the business forum, has faired better in the last 12 months.”

Last year the Town Council launched a marketing campaign to attract the coaches back to the town for a pit stop, while overall the UK is enjoying a boost from people taking more ‘staycations’ instead of travelling abroad.