GUEST COLUMN:
Zoe Hawkins
Chief Executive
Mid Wales Tourism (MWT Cymru)
When the Tour de France comes to Wales in 2027 it will be a moment of national significance. For Mid Wales, hosting a stage of the world’s biggest annual sporting event represents something deeper and more lasting: a rare opportunity to change how our region is recognised, understood and valued on a global stage.
Stage three of the men’s Tour de France will start in Welshpool and pass through parts of Powys before finishing in Cardiff. While the race itself follows a defined route, the opportunity it presents extends far beyond the communities the cyclists ride through. This is about the visibility of Mid Wales as a whole and the chance to introduce the heart of Wales to audiences who may never have encountered it before.
Across Powys, Ceredigion and Meirionnydd, Mid Wales accounts for close to 40% of Wales’ landmass. Yet for many international visitors, awareness of Wales is often shaped by places such as Cardiff or Anglesey. Towns like Welshpool or Builth Wells, and the breadth of experience found across Mid Wales, are less familiar. The Tour de France offers a rare chance to change that awareness in a single moment.
The race is broadcast internationally over three weeks, with individual stages carried to television and digital audiences numbering in the millions. What matters for Mid Wales is inclusion in that global broadcast story. Our landscapes, towns and communities will be seen, named and recognised far beyond the UK.
This is not exposure that can be bought through a conventional marketing campaign. It is earned visibility, delivered through one of the most recognisable sporting events in the world. For Mid Wales, that means becoming visible, searchable and name recognisable to people who may never previously have considered this part of Wales as a destination.
For businesses, this matters because it represents genuine additional opportunity. These are not just visitors choosing Mid Wales instead of somewhere they already know. Many will be encountering the region for the first time. That creates the potential for longer stays, new markets and repeat visits, all of which are vital to the long-term sustainability of our rural visitor economy.
Tourism already plays a critical role in Mid Wales, supporting jobs, local services and supply chains across accommodation, food and drink, attractions and retail. An event of this scale can bring short-term benefits around the race itself, but its real value lies in what comes next. The challenge is to turn attention into action.
At Mid Wales Tourism (MWT Cymru), our focus is firmly on that long-term outcome. As a not-for-profit membership organisation representing more than 600 tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and Meirionnydd, our role is to help businesses make the most of moments like this.
We will be working closely with Welsh Government, local authorities and national partners, each within their own roles, to ensure Mid Wales maximises this opportunity. For Mid Wales Tourism, that means doing what we do best: coordinating destination marketing, supporting business readiness, and helping our members convert global attention into bookings, longer stays and return visits.
That work is practical. It means developing clear, bookable short breaks that make it easy to choose Mid Wales. For many viewers, their next step will be a simple online search. Platforms such as VisitMidWales.co.uk, supported by our year-round social media activity, are where that initial interest can be turned into real consideration, helping people move from seeing Mid Wales on screen to planning a visit. It also means coordinated storytelling that showcases businesses across the whole region, not only those directly on the race route, and helping businesses think about how they capture interest, follow up enquiries and stay visible long after the race has moved on.
This is also about confidence and collaboration. When a region speaks with a shared voice, its message travels further. By working together, businesses can benefit from a level of visibility that would be difficult to achieve alone.
The real question is not whether the Tour de France brings attention to Mid Wales; it will. The question is how effectively we work together to make sure that attention translates into lasting value for our region.
Used well, this moment can help reposition Mid Wales as a destination in its own right, known internationally for its landscapes, experiences and independent businesses. That shift in awareness is where the real opportunity lies, and it is one that can support our communities and economy long after the cyclists have passed.
Zoe Hawkins is Chief Executive of Mid Wales Tourism (MWT Cymru), the not-for-profit organisation supporting tourism and hospitality businesses across Powys, Ceredigion and Meirionnydd.
