Go North Wales

What Go North Wales does

Go North Wales is the official North Wales Tourist Information Site, operated under North Wales Tourism as the regional destination marketing platform for Anglesey, Snowdonia, the Llyn Peninsula, the Coastal Resorts, and North East Wales. The platform serves domestic and international tourists with a unified content and booking experience built on the Simpleview destination marketing technology stack, integrating Beyonk for online experience bookings and what3words for granular location addressing. Core consumer-facing products include an Itinerary Planner, Accommodation Search across hotels, B&Bs, self-catering, camping, glamping, caravan parks, hostels, and pet-friendly properties; a Things to Do directory covering 307 attractions, water sports, tours, heritage railways, beaches, castles, museums, and parks; and a What's On events calendar. Supporting features include multilingual brochures in 8 languages (English, Welsh, Japanese, German, Mandarin, French, Hindi, Spanish), a dedicated Dog Friendly Guide, a Cadw heritage spotlight, a Heritage Railways guide, a Food and Drink directory, a business events sub-platform at meetnorthwales.co.uk, and a merchandise e-commerce shop.

The business is free-to-use for visitors and monetizes through two principal streams: tourism advertising and promotional placements from operators (featured listings, banner advertisements, sponsored content) and transaction-based commissions on experience bookings routed through the Beyonk integration. The platform pursues a direct-to-consumer GTM motion through its owned website, organic social on Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube, content marketing via blog and itinerary ideas, an email newsletter, SEO-optimized destination pages, and co-branded competitions with regional tourism partners. Operationally the entity is small (11-50 employees, single regional office), founded in 1990, private, and based in Colwyn Bay, Wales; its competitive advantage is grounded in official DMO-style status and curated regional content rather than proprietary technology. Go North Wales holds no patents, has no disclosed funding history, and has undergone no leadership, M&A, or restructuring changes on record.

Name

Go North Wales

Website

https://gonorthwales.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Go North Wales is the official North Wales Tourist Information Site operated under North Wales Tourism, offering a free direct-to-consumer destination platform with itinerary planning, accommodation search, attraction listings, event calendars, and multilingual content for tourists and visitors to North Wales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing Platform

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Tours, Activities & Experiences Booking Marketplaces (THALAFAF)

Keywords

• Destination marketing platform
• Tourism information services
• Travel planning tools
• Accommodation booking services
• Visitor guide services

Headquarters

HQ city

Colwyn Bay

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Tourism Advertising and Promotions: The platform monetizes through advertising and promotional placements from tourism operators, attractions, accommodation providers, and local businesses. Featured listings, banner advertisements, and sponsored content sections are visible throughout the site.
2. Online Booking Commissions: Integration with Beyonk for experience booking enables commission-based revenue from activity and experience providers. The platform directs visitors to book attractions, tours, and activities through the integrated booking system.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Go North Wales operates the official North Wales Tourist Information Site, a digital destination marketing platform that aggregates tourism content, attractions, accommodations, events, and experiences across North Wales. The platform provides itinerary planning tools, accommodation search, an attractions directory, an events calendar, and multilingual brochures/guides. It generates revenue through advertising placements from tourism operators and commissions on experience bookings via Beyonk integration, while remaining free for visitors to use.

Product overview

Go North Wales is the official North Wales Tourist Information site operated by North Wales Tourism, offering a unified digital platform that combines travel planning, accommodation booking, and attraction discovery. The core offering consists of an Itinerary Planner tool, an Accommodation Search system, and a Things to Do directory—all powered by the Beyonk booking platform for experiences. Supporting services include a What's On events calendar, Food & Drink directory, multilingual Brochures & Guides (available in 8 languages), and a Blog/Ideas & Inspiration content hub. The site features specialized sub-products including a Dog Friendly Guide, Cadw Heritage Spotlight for historical sites, Heritage Railways Guide, and Beaches Directory covering 250+ miles of coastline. The platform integrates Simpleview technology, Google services for analytics and translation, and what3words for location addressing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Itinerary Planner A trip planning tool that allows visitors to build custom multi-stop itineraries, save attractions and points of interest, and organise their North Wales visit in one place. Targeted at leisure tourists planning self-directed holidays.
• Accommodation Search & Booking Search and filter platform for accommodation across North Wales including hotels, B&Bs and guesthouses, self-catering and holiday cottages, caravan and holiday parks, camping, glamping, hostels, and pet-friendly properties, with availability checking functionality.
• Things to Do Directory Comprehensive directory of attractions and activities in North Wales including adventure parks, castles and forts, museums and galleries, parks and gardens, water sports, tours and sightseeing, dog-friendly options, Cadw heritage sites, heritage railways, family-friendly attractions, and beaches.
• What's On Events Calendar Event listings and calendar featuring festivals, markets, concerts, and seasonal events across North Wales, with visitor event submission capability for community-added events.
• Food & Drink Directory Directory of restaurants, pubs, bars, cafes, and food producers throughout North Wales with family-friendly filtering options to help visitors plan dining during their stay.
• Multilingual Brochures & Guides Downloadable brochures and video guides available in eight languages (English, Welsh, Japanese, German, Mandarin, French, Hindi, and Spanish) covering destinations, attractions, and travel information for international visitors.
• Online Shop E-commerce storefront selling North Wales merchandise and promotional items, accessible at shop.gonorthwales.co.uk.
• Business Events Platform (Meet North Wales) Dedicated sub-platform at meetnorthwales.co.uk targeting corporate event organisers, conference planners, and group travel coordinators seeking venues, accommodation, and activity programmes for business events in North Wales.

Quantifiable outcome

• Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2017 recognition - only UK destination to make the list

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• SimpleviewcoreTechnology or IntegrationSimpleview is the technology partner that built and maintains the Go North Wales destination marketing platform. The footer credits Simpleview for website development.
• Cadw (Welsh Historic Environment Service)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCadw is the Welsh Government's historic environment service managing heritage sites across Wales. Go North Wales features Cadw locations prominently including castles, abbeys, and ancient monuments with dedicated 'Spotlight on Cadw' section and integrated event listings.
• BeyonkcoreTechnology or IntegrationBeyonk provides the online booking and point-of-sale system powering experience bookings on the Go North Wales platform. The platform credits Beyonk for 'Experience Booking Powered by Beyonk'.
• Finding AliceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerFinding Alice is an immersive outdoor adventure game in Llandudno. Partnered with Go North Wales for a competition offering winners adventure experiences and accommodation at The Llandudno Bay Hotel.
• The Llandudno Bay HotelminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSeafront hotel partnered with Go North Wales for a competition offering winners accommodation and adventure experiences in the Queen of Welsh Resorts.
• Japanese Resources PartnersminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMultilingual content partnerships providing Japanese-language brochures and video guides to support Japanese tourist visitation to North Wales.
• North Wales TourismcoreOthersNorth Wales Tourism is the parent organization overseeing Go North Wales as the official tourist information platform for the North Wales region.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit Lake District: UK regional DMO focused on a nature-and-adventure destination with accommodation listings, attractions, and outdoor-activity content — a close analog in product surface and target visitor.
• Visit Wales: National tourism body for Wales; the most direct comparable as a destination-marketing platform operating in the same country and overlapping on Welsh destination content, with a similar tourism promotion and accommodation-listing model.
• Visit Scotland: Scotland's national tourist board operating a comparable destination-marketing website with accommodation search, things-to-do directories, events calendars, and multilingual content — structurally identical to Go North Wales.
• Visit Cornwall: Regional UK DMO with a similar coastal/heritage/adventure positioning, accommodation directory, and things-to-do model; directly comparable in scope and audience to Go North Wales.
• Discover Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland's official destination-marketing platform with comparable listings of attractions, accommodation, events, and travel information for a UK sub-national tourism region.

Broad incumbents

• VisitBritain: The UK's national tourism agency operating at a much larger scale and broader geographic remit; comparable as a destination-marketing platform but with a national rather than regional scope and substantially larger budget.
• Visit England: National tourism body for England with overlapping destination-marketing functionality; comparable in mission and product surface but at a broader geographic and budgetary scale.

Regional players

• Tourism Ireland: Cross-border tourism marketing body for the island of Ireland; comparable in DMO function and product surface but serves a different primary geographic market in the British Isles.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GoNorthWales
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLs6mlPPQuS9ohtydGBz67Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/gonorthwales
• Instagraminstagram.com/gonorthwales

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Go North Wales