“Feel the hwyl. Only in Wales” – Visit Wales’ latest campaign – officially kicks off today with a call to visitors from far and wide to celebrate and experience joyful and fun moments unique to Wales.
‘Hwyl’ has no direct translation in English, but describes a deep state of joy that comes from being totally immersed in the moment. The ‘hwyl’ concept, part of the 2025 Year of Croeso, aims to differentiate Wales in a crowded marketplace through focussing on our language and a strong sense of place.
The campaign was filmed in over a dozen locations across Wales during Summer and Autumn 2024 in collaboration with the creative industries in Wales. The locations range from coastal destinations such as Tenby and Three Cliffs on Gower, to a music festival in Merthyr Mawr, a Wrexham home game and even a hot air balloon trip above magnificent Raglan castle.
Maxine Hughes, of Welcome to Wrexham fame and journalist, also features as part of the campaign to explain ‘hwyl’ and how Wales is the best place to experience it.
The multi-platform campaign uses real sounds from across Wales rather than music in an emerging trend for immersive sensory campaigns which give viewers the chance to not only see iconic destinations, but also to hear them and experience the moment and imagine themselves in that exact setting.
The theme and campaign are also easy for partners, destinations, and tourism businesses large or small to embrace and support.
Partner organisations will also be sharing their hwyl moments during the year including Wrexham AFC, Cadw, Transport for Wales, Wales Coast Path and National Trails, regional tourism destinations such as Visit Pembrokeshire and national park authorities such as Bannau Brycheiniog National Park.
The Economy Secretary, with responsibility for Tourism, Rebecca Evans said:
“2025 will celebrate the joyful things that make us distinctively Welsh and can only be experienced here in Wales. We want to share our warm ‘croeso’ and unique ‘hwyl’ with the world and invite them to not just see but feel, taste and truly experience the ‘must do’ things we have on offer.
“We’re also very proud to be championing our wonderful language by using a Welsh word for the first time in our communications with global audiences.
“Everyone can help us take even more of Wales to the world in 2025 by sharing the campaign and feeling the hwyl for themselves.”
Wrexham AFC CEO Michael Williamson added:
“We’re pleased to have partnered with Visit Wales as part of their “Year of the Croeso” campaign.
“Everyone can be assured of a warm “Croeso i Wrecsam” at the STōK Cae Ras, the world’s oldest international football stadium, and there’s certainly plenty of “Hwyl” supporting Wales’ oldest Football Club.
“We’re proud of our heritage, culture, history and community in our corner of North Wales and continue to extend an invite to all who would like to visit Wrexham and North Wales to sample it for themselves.”
Visit Wales will also be working closely with other parts of the Welsh Government during the Year of Croeso to increase the use of Welsh in the tourism industry, promote Bwyd a Diod Cymru to encourage visitors to shop locally, and proactively speak to students about entering the Welsh tourism and hospitality industry as a career.
