To attract more international tourists the Welsh government put out a call for ideas about how to make Wales a global tourist destination.
The solution proposed by researchers at Brunel University London is that Wales embraces its dragons and legends as the nation’s unique selling point. The research, led by Professor Yen, Director of Research at Brunel Business School, has drawn interest from the Welsh Affairs Committee, and support and debate from the Welsh people.
Through konfer, the team sought to collaborate with Welsh tourism companies to further test their research. As a result, Professor Dorothy Yen connected with MediaCymru who are building on South Wales’ success in making creative content by putting research and development (R&D) at the core of production. MediaCymru aim to create a culture of innovation to move the screen sector from a position of strength to one of leadership, internationally.
Professor Yen said ‘through konfer, I connected directly with Gavin Johnson a Producer at MediaCymru and together we are exploring ideas on our aligned ambitions for promoting Welsh tourism through creative content’.
Discussions with MediaCymru inspired Professor Yen to further develop her research by seeking to work with creative industry partners in screen and media, with an interest in Welsh legend, mythology, and language to develop quality game content. The project focuses on developing creative content to draw on the growing number of Welsh game companies coupled with the popularity of Welsh mythology to both support the creative sector while attracting much-needed international audiences.
Gavin Johnson from MediaCymru said, ‘we were delighted to get the opportunity to connect with Brunel University London via konfer. Professor Yen’s research into Welsh branding and her work with Welsh Government and the Welsh Affairs Committee creates an exciting opportunity for Wales. Through konfer, we are now looking connect with content creation companies to explore R&D projects that could take this research next stage and generate real impact’.