Wednesday, January 22, 2025 Wales, the country of misty mountains, rugged coastlines, and ancient castles, has a problem—its tourism numbers have plummeted, and fast. Between 2019 and 2023, the number of visitors dropped by a shocking 13%, leaving the Welsh tourism industry on the brink of collapse. But now, in a desperate bid to reclaim its position as a must-visit destination, Wales has launched a daring new campaign.
And at the heart of this campaign? One single word—“hwyl.” The word “hwyl” (pronounced “hoo-eel”) is at the center of Visit Wales’ ambitious new tourism strategy, aimed at bringing tourists back to this stunning, but increasingly overlooked, part of the United Kingdom. What is “hwyl,” exactly? In Welsh, it’s more than just a word—it’s an embodiment of an entire feeling.
A word that means everything from joyous exuberance to peaceful contentment. Simply put, it’s the emotion Wales wants tourists to feel when they step foot on its welcoming shores: pure joy, total relaxation, and the bliss of disconnecting from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Is This Campaign a Genius Move or a Desperate Hail Mary? Wales isn’t alone in using a single word to boost its tourism—Denmark famously used “hygge,” a concept that promotes coziness and contentment, to attract millions of visitors in recent years.
The “hygge” movement was so successful it even earned the title of “word of the year” by the Collins and Oxford dictionaries.
