Two well-known Welsh entrepreneurs have teamed up to provide a unique offer for the tourism and hospitality sectors in Wales.
PR and marketing expert Robert Petersen and sustainable tourism specialist Nicki Page are working together to transform the way businesses in the sectors promote themselves and their sustainability.
Using their knowledge and experience, the pair plan to offer tailored packages of support to government bodies, charities and tourism and hospitality businesses in Wales to help them shout about their climate credentials and attract visitors and investment from across the world.
Nicki Page said: “Climate change is having a significant impact upon the world, driving businesses and organisations of all sizes to adopt more sustainable practices.
“Unless tourism and hospitality businesses accelerate their implementation of sustainable operations, they risk regulatory intervention and the loss of customers and investment.
“Our mission is to help tourism and hospitality businesses and organisations in Wales to change the way they think, to help them rewrite their narratives to promote themselves and their sustainability.”
Rob Petersen said: “Tourism is a vital industry for Wales, bringing hundreds of millions of pounds into the Welsh economy every year. But since Covid the industry has struggled and visitor numbers are down, and the planned visitor levy could impact this further.
“That’s why it’s vital that Wales’s tourism and hospitality brands, from hotels and restaurants to campsites and cafes, commit to a sustainable agenda that is good for people and planet.
“Most importantly, they must tell the world what they are doing and why they are doing it, and that’s what Nicki and I are here to help them with.
‘’With the emergence of AI as a key tool in planning and delivering marketing and PR campaigns, we will use all the relevant media channels to ensure that the sector’s key messages are delivered to target audiences in Wales and beyond.’’
Ms Page is the founder of TLC Harmony, a consultancy business that helps tourism, travel and hospitality businesses comply with sustainability requirements by measuring and addressing their impacts on climate and biodiversity.
She has worked with governments and tourism providers across the world, delivering solutions that balance the demands of business with the needs of local communities.
In Wales, she recently worked on a sustainability programme with Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, evaluating the resort’s environmental impact and its greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr Petersen has had a long career in marketing, advertising and public relations, and ran one of Wales’ oldest public relations firms, Petersens PR, for more than 20 years. He has worked with many tourism and hospitality clients, including Bluestone Resort, the former Wales Tourist Board, and most recently the Mercure Hotel Newport.
Mr Petersen and Ms Page first met in the 1990s when they worked together on an award-winning communications and marketing campaign for the launch of the St David’s Hotel and Spa in Cardiff Bay, Wales’s first 5-star hotel.
Ms Page said: “I have known Rob for more than 30 years, and over that time I have seen him lead the marketing and PR scene in Wales with his professional and innovative approach to strategy and content.
“I am delighted we are once again working together to shake up the Welsh tourism and hospitality sectors with the aim of putting sustainability at the top of the agenda.
“Together, we will bring our shared passion and creativity to this purpose-driven transformation mission.”
