Bangor University’s Pontio Innovation Centre and Go North Wales will be co-hosting the annual
North Wales Tourism conference in Pontio on 6 December. The title of the conference is “Adventure
and Beyond”.
Keynote speakers include Lord Ellis- Thomas, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, television
presenter, Kate Humble, writer and public speaker, John Thackara as well as Yangtze River Walk
adventurer and extreme athlete, Ash Dykes, from North Wales, who will join by video conference.
“North Wales is already a top adventure travel destination” said John Thackara. “This event is about
connecting visitors with the social, cultural and natural assets of North Wales in new ways”.
Described by Business Week as “one of the great voices on sustainability” – Thackara’s talk will
feature biodiversity walks, heritage learning journeys, ecomuseums, food routes, code clubs, maker
camps – and other examples of what he calls “the new hospitality”.
Jim Jones MD of North Wales Tourism said, “I am really looking forward to this conference. We have
designed it to focus on three key themes – wellness, discovery and innovation – and have brought
together thought-provoking presenters who are extremely engaging. And where better to host a
conference on innovation than Pontio Innovation; one of most innovative places in North Wales.’
Delegates to Adventure and Beyond will also brainstorm ideas in small multi-disciplinary groups. A
key topic will be the multiple dimensions of wellness and health, to create opportunities for the $4.2
trillion dollar wellness industry.
“The best wellness travel ideas generated in the Beyond Adventure workshops will be developed in
this year’s Enterprise by Design (EbD) challenge” said Andy Goodman, Pontio Innovation’s director.
“This ten-week programme is highly effective in turning would-be-nice ideas into live prototypes
that are close to market-ready. We will connect faculty experts and sixty students – from across six
schools – with local firms to develop new product ideas”.
At the conference, Bangor University will also describe two new Masters Courses that together will
inform and develop innovations within Wellness Tourism.
Jamie Macdonald, Head of Sport, Health & Exercise Science at Bangor University, said:
“Our new undergraduate degree in Adventure Sport Science will apply established, world leading
research in Sport Science and Elite Performance within the burgeoning adventure sports industry in
Snowdonia.”
Andy Goodman added: “Bridging between academic research and industry, students taking our new
Masters in Relational Design will work with adventure sport scientists and tourism companies to
create new products, services and experiences.”
Adventure and Beyond: Annual North Wales Tourism Conference 2018
