 North Wales' rivers could see more white-water canoeing |
The watersports industry in north Wales is to be developed with the aim of creating more than 400 jobs and doubling annual revenues to �60m. A not-for-profit company, North Wales Watersports, will be launched at Plas Menai National Watersports Centre in Caernarfon on Thursday.
The new venture hopes to help establish activities including diving, canoeing and sailing.
The industry currently generates a revenue of �30m a year in the region.
The project will also provide education and training opportunities for young people looking to pursue a career in watersports.
It will also create hundreds of long-term jobs within the industry itself, as well as generating others in tourism and support industries. North Wales Watersports chairman Peter Dickie said: "Above all, we want to create a new and vibrant watersports culture in the region, in ways which sustain the local environment and are welcomed by local communities.
"We are passionate about making things happen on a scale which will make a significant contribution to the future of North Wales - and encouraging more people to take an active part in watersports."
Economic Development Minister Andrew Davies and Wales Tourist Board chairman Philip Evans were expected to attended to launch, which will include a presentation by Francois Arbellot, from Brittany.
He will explain how the French region has benefited economically and environmentally over the last 30 years from the development of watersports businesses.
North Wales Watersports has already signed up more than 50 companies within the industry and will build further with funding from Europe, the Welsh Development Agency, the Wales Tourist Board and local authorities.
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