South Wales for meetings, incentives, conferences and events

With an international conference centre, a vast array of unusual and versatile venues and accommodation, team building activities set in breathtaking landscapes and steeped with history, South Wales makes a great choice for event planners. Whether it's a conference for thousands, a leadership away day for 50 or team building for 10.

Wales' pedigree in hosting events is demonstrated by its success in attracting global sporting events and conferences, including the NATO summit and UEFA Champions League Final and has an attractive appeal to global event planners, knowing their events are in safe hands. The capital city, Cardiff, is young, diverse and energetic with rich culture, a thriving food scene and a lifestyle that ranks as one of the best in Europe. 

Within this region delegates are invited to experience a deep insight into Wales’ culture and history, the land of castles (of which there are over 600 in Wales) and the industrial heritage of iron and coal. With wide open green spaces, stunning coastline, flowing rivers, waterfalls and woodlands in amongst the rolling green hills and valleys. It's easy to see why international artist Tom Jones has taken inspiration from his home nation for his music.

Venues include the International Convention Centre (ICC) and The Celtic Collection; Celtic Manor Resort in Coldra, Newport, The Royal Mint Experience, Llantrisant, Vale Resort and Hensol Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, and A Welsh Coal Mining Experience, Rhondda Heritage Park in Porth to provide delegates with a range of options and stunning backdrops as venues.

Experiences include wine tasting and cookery classes at Llanerch Vineyard, travelling down a mine at both A Welsh Coal Mining Experience, and Big Pit National Coal Museum, a visit to one of the many castles in South Wales including Caerphilly Castle, Castell Coch, Tintern Abbey National Roman Legion Museum and Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths and amphitheatre. Or for those looking for more high adrenaline activities, Zip World Tower, Taff Valley Quad Bike & Activity Centre, canyoning and walking with views of Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park and national dark skies reserve.

This region is proud of its rich industrial heritage. It thrives in a range of innovative businesses, across diverse sectors, research and development from the leading high manufacturing companies such as British Airways, to the established enterprise zone at Cardiff Airport and Bro Tathan which has been a major centre for aerospace and defence since 1938. Tiny Rebel Brewing Company, which is the youngest and only Welsh brewery to win the Champion Beer of Britain award, offers exclusive delegate experiences as do Penderyn Brecon Beacons Distillery and Hensol Castle Distillery, who have produced leading whisky and gin distilleries with experiences in this region, whilst Zip World have opened yet another leading attraction in Wales this time in the Tower mine in the Cynon Valley, South Wales.

Find out more about our key industry sectors and influential businesses and why Wales was their preferred location of business.

The region’s two major cities of Newport and Cardiff, have good public transport access to major UK cities and international destinations. Transport can be directly accessed by;

• road along the M4 motorway and over the Prince of Wales Bridge;
• rail from London in under two hours by train and under three hours from Birmingham and Manchester; 
• air through Cardiff Airport (CWL), located 20 minutes outside the city centre and 40 minutes from Newport with with direct routes and connections through KLM, Vueling and other major airlines, whilst Bristol Airport (BRS) is just 40 minutes away.