ICC Wales |
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effectively , for us , it ’ s a relaunch as we are still having people ask whether we even open . People say you never get a second chance to make a first impression , that ’ s not the case for us ,” says Bounds .
Area of effect Being invested in by the Welsh Government puts a certain amount of pressure on ICC Wales , the venue not only has to bring in events , but ensure thatthe surrounding area of Newport can benefit from the increased footfall from visitors . For Bounds and the team this meant getting in contact with local businesses and focusing on
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education , she says : “ We ’ re the first venue of this size in Wales and the south west , so we had to get it right . That involved reaching out to local hoteliers and making sure that they recognise the impact and the importance of the visitor economy and that if somebody attends from a business perspective , they ’ re more likely to attend as a leisure guest . We had to do a lot of education because we ’ ve got everything in this area from a small guest house for 12 people right up to branded hotels for 200 .”
More than just the standard fare of venues , restaurants etc , the venue dug down to the granular
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“ People say you never get a second chance to make a first impression , that ’ s not the case for us .” |
level , going so far as to give local taxi drivers a tour of ICC Wales to make visitors ’ first point of contact a positive one .
“ We brought many of them [ taxi drivers ] into the venue when we first opened , our chief executive hosted a breakfast session with them , and talked about what we wanted to achieve . We were very conscious that you ’ re only as strong as your weakest link . The first person they see , normally when they get off a train is a taxi driver , if they don ’ t have the best reception it ’ s all downhill from there .”
Future proof What ’ s next for a venue like ICC
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