North Wales Tourism consists of 12 non-executive directors who operate or manage tourism businesses. The sectors represented include hotels, farm guesthouses, hostels, self catering, touring caravan parks and visitor attractions. Board meetings are held 4 times per annum February, June, September and November.
NWT Directors
Jim Jones
Position: Managing Director
Ex-Welsh Guardsman Jim Jones is on a new mission to sell North Wales to the world. After leaving the forces he worked in local government - eventually heading up the tourism and communities department at Conwy Council.
Now he has taken the role as Managing Director of North Wales Tourism, the largest destination management organisation in Wales with a growing membership of more than 1,000. He is passionate about working in partnership to promote the region's spectacular landscape, heritage, culture, food and drink, accommodation along with the adventure and family attractions.
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Glenn Evans
Position: Chair
Glenn Evans, Managing Director Snowdonia Hospitality & Leisure Limited - Glenn returned to the family business after a successful career in London as a Solicitor specialising in medical negligence. Upon his return to Betws-y-Coed in 1997, Glenn initiated a refurbishment and development plan for the company’s flagship hotel The Royal Oak. By masterplanning the site the Royal Oak stood on the company doubled its room capacity and added retail areas and a stand alone F&B outlet making it the go-to destination venue in Betws-y-Coed. In 2001 the company acquired the Waterloo Hotel and added Leisure facilities to its portfolio. Having grown up in the village Glenn understands the demands and adaptations seasonal businesses require to thrive and has worked steadfastly with the local Tourism Committee to attract year round trade for the village.
Glenn has been a board member of Betws Ymlaen, a local community group who organise and hold national level events, whose aim is to leave a sustainable legacy for future generations. Glenn has also been involved with Arts & Business Cymru & a member of their directors' pool, alongside a host of community forums and boards to include the Betws-y-Coed and District Tourist Association and the Snowdonia Arts Festival. In taking an inclusive approach to community and business and understanding the inherent needs of rural living, alongside his background in law, Glenn hopes to bring expertise and insight to the North Wales Tourism Board.
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Andrew Plimmer
Position: Vice-Chair
2023 marks my 30th year in hospitality, 27 years as a hotelier having owned an operated my own hotel (in North Wales) as well as running 2 small hotel companies. Prior to this I worked for a travel management company covering all aspects of business travel and this is where I originally developed my interest in the hotel trade.
For the last 4 years I have been responsible for sales and business development of the Everbright Hotel Group who now employ a growing number of staff in 4 North Wales properties with an additional 2 to bring online in the future. Hospitality complements my personality because it’s both an emotional and a physical product. North Wales also suits me because I see the huge potential the area offers and I’m keen to develop new relationships that benefit this most wonderful location. Like others I see it as the “adventure capital” of Wales and I’d like to do more to work towards benefiting everyone everywhere involved in the tourism business in this area. The knock on business that comes as a consequence of guests visiting hotels makes me realise that it is the area that needs to be constantly promoted and if I / we are not promoting then more than likely our competitors are – and this works well in my proactive frame of mind.
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Frankie Hobro
Position: Vice-Chair
Frankie Hobro is the Owner and Director of Anglesey Sea Zoo & Marine Resource Centre and she has always been a passionate advocate for conservation and sustainability. Frankie gained years of experience working on hands-on conservation projects with critically endangered species across the globe, often in challenging and isolated conditions, in both terrestrial and marine environments, including island nature reserve and endangered species management and establishing long-term sustainable ecotourism projects.
Frankie is specialised in all aspects of eco-tourism, having filled many roles across the spectrum from exclusive private islands to not-for-profit nature reserves, working with elite and high profile guests in a five star environment, managing interactive conservation projects and visitor expectations, creating bespoke ecotourism tours and optimising guest experiences.
Having spent a large amount of her childhood in North Wales and on Anglesey, Frankie returned to do postgraduate studies at Bangor University School of Ocean Sciences in 2001, then she returned and settled on Anglesey when she bought the Anglesey Sea Zoo in 2007, becoming the sole Owner and Director of the business in 2013.
Since purchasing the business Frankie has transformed it into the only exclusively British aquarium, housing only native species with an entirely natural sea water supply directly from the Menai Strait and specialising in the captive breeding of endangered native species for reintroduction into the wild. As well as being a major tourist attraction and local employer, the Anglesey Sea Zoo is an essential community and research hub, uniquely focussing on sustainability, education, marine conservation and breeding programmes for endangered native species such as seahorses and lobsters.
Frankie has set up successful bilingual education and outreach programmes at the Sea Zoo and a voluntary marine animal rescue centre, with the capacity to rescue and rehabilitate all kinds of stranded or injured marine animals, as well as a non-profit-making beach clean group which has been running for over a decade in collaboration with Keep Wales Tidy and the Marine Conservation Society.
Frankie is a Role Model and Inspirational Speaker for Big Ideas Wales, promoting entrepreneurship and skills-based learning, particularly promoting STEM and encouraging more women to follow careers in science and business, whilst also constantly working on increasing the sustainability of the business and local community involvement in marine based activities and projects. Frankie is also actively involved in promoting relations and links between North Wales and Japan following a visit to Japan in November 2018.
As well as gaining numerous environmental awards and accreditations, in July 2019 Frankie was honoured with the extremely prestigious award of Bangor University Alumnus of the Year. She continues to strive to optimise tourism and hospitality revenue through maximum sustainability and environmental awareness with the ambition of the Welsh Tourism sector becoming a global leader in sustainable ecotourism.
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Adrian Barsby
Position: Director
Having progressed from Porter to General Manager via traditional hotel training after several GM postings throughout England Adrian moved to Wales in 1994 to operate a private company with hotels throughout Great Britain. The company gained benchmark Investor in People status and won Employer of the Year 2002.
He chaired North Wales Tourism during transition from being part publicly funded to becoming a private sector company and has been active with Chamber of Commerce, IoD and regional economic development. Was Chair of Wales Tourism Alliance from October 2015 – September 2018 representing the interests of circa 6,000 Welsh Tourism enterprises to Welsh and UK Government.
Since early 1990’s Adrian has been a visiting lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, undertaken economic development projects for The British Council in Bulgaria and delivered numerous workshops and seminars on behalf of an arm of The Savoy Trust throughout former Soviet Bloc countries. From 2015 has been an Associate Lecturer at MMU specialising in Strategic Tourism Management, International Marketing, Global Tourism Development and Degree Apprenticeship in Operations Management.
Adrian set up Barsby Associates Ltd in 2007 a company that specialises in business support for tourism and hospitality. The company has mentored over 200 enterprises and helped turnaround companies of all sizes throughout the UK. Winning contracts with WRAP and RDP projects in North East Wales. He has experience of working with a broad range of enterprises having mentored / coached owners of; Holiday Cottages, Luxury Caravan and Leisure Parks, Golf Courses, Pubs, Restaurants, Attractions, Holiday & Retail Villages, Vintage Vehicle Rental, Branded Hotels, Hotel Groups, Luxury Hotels, regional and national tourism bodies.
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Ruth Higgin
Position: Director
Ruth Higgin, Ty Mawr Tearooms B&B, Llanddeiniolen – I have been in the hospitality industry for many years. For the last 8 years I have run a B & B Tearooms/Restaurant with my husband on the edge of Snowdonia.
Having lived in North Wales for 37 years, I realise the importance of tourism and how important growth and development is paramount to the community and us as business owners.
In previous years I ran a food oriented Pub and a Catering Company, with a customers like MBNA, M & SFS, Rolls Royce and BMW, then in Sales and Marketing for an International FMCG Company.
In my leisure time (winter time) I enjoy watercolour painting and walking our Labradors in the mountains and by the sea.
If given the pleasure of being elected as a director of North Wales Tourism, I look forward to assisting my peers in driving forward the message of bring more people to one of the most beautiful parts of the world.
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Nicky Williamson
Position: Director
Nicky has a strong background in Tourism and a wealth of experience internationally, nationally, as well as locally in North Wales.
She spent 25 years working with Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts and Starwood (now Marriott) culminating in Senior international roles in Hotel operations, Brand development, development of Emerging Markets and Leadership Development.
In 2018 she returned home to North Wales to operate her own venture - the West Arms, Llanarmon DC, which together with her husband Mark, they lovingly restored to an award winning Restaurant, Bar and 16-bedroom country inn.
Nicky works hard on behalf of the sector particularly in her role with PASC UK Cymru (Professional Association of Self-Caterers). Nicky is a holiday let operator herself and she leads on lobbying and support activities throughout Wales and represents the sector on all the current Government interventions, such as 182-day threshold for holiday lets and the proposed Tourism Levy and is a respected Tourism advocate by both the Welsh Government and industry operators.
Nicky’s broad and in-depth understanding of the whole Tourism and Hospitality sector spans from global to local and from strategy to day-to-day operation.
North Wales born and bred she is delighted to combine her 2 passions of North Wales and Hospitality to benefit the industry and to showcase the best of Wales on a global stage.
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Laura Jones
Position: Director
Laura Jones, Marketing Manager at Lyons Holiday Park - Laura has a huge passion for the leisure and tourism industry here in North Wales, from the epic natural landscape, mixed with the distinctive Welsh culture including its own language, then adding in the abundance of varied businesses, from food and drink, accommodation, along with the adventure and family attractions, North Wales makes for an authentic and truly memorable experience for people of all ages.
Laura believes that with her experience of development, promotion and relationship building, along with her passion that she could really add a valuable contribution to the North Wales Tourism Board.
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Yvonne Jackson
Position: Director
Yvonne Jackson as CEO of Condor Hotels Ltd is a ‘hands on’ business consultant specialising in the Hotel & Leisure Industry. During her highly successful thirty year career Yvonne has held many significant senior roles including General Manager of 4 star de-luxe Hotels with Q Hotels, Hilton Hotels and DeVere Hotels, CEO Yvonne Jackson Conference and Hotels Booking Agency, an independent Hotel Owner Operator, Operations Director and Interim CEO Resident Hotels, together with a number of presently held Non Exec. and Managing Director roles within the hotel, golf, hospitality and leisure industry. Yvonne’s principal focus is on developing and steering leadership teams through transformational change, improving operation effectiveness and efficiency, introducing, and installing the latest technology, marketing and media platforms and necessary legislative compliance. Above all focus is on maximising a business potential and improving bottom line performance. A great believer in networking, Yvonne has built a strong network of collaborative relationships throughout the UK and International business world – including Bankers, Entrepreneurs, Developers, Marketeers, Independent and Group Hoteliers and Leisure Operators.
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Sara McKee
Position: Director
Sara McKee is the founder of Caernarfon’s distinctive yellow gallery, Life: Full Colour. An entrepreneur, social reformer and marketer, Sara founded the gallery in 2020 to bring together her extensive commercial experience with her passion for art history. Since opening Life: Full Colour, Sara has nurtured and promoted a stable of Welsh artists, delivered art workshops for the community, established an international exchange programme with the New York Studio School, and will soon be opening a new art atelier and members’ bar, Y Segontiwm. It’s all part of her dream to create the North Wales version of the St Ives artists’ colony.
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Justin Everley
Position: Director
Justin Everley, Managing Director, Parisellas Ice Creams
Justin is an MBA qualified professional, possessing extensive marketing, management and commercial acumen and experience. In addition to founding and selling several private businesses, Justin has considerable experience in sport and leisure markets and has worked in senior roles in the UK, Australia, Qatar and the UAE. Justin returned to the UK in 2016 to join Surf Snowdonia. Justin has been an integral part of the ongoing development of the business as it has rebranded to Adventure Parc Snowdonia and has been directly involved in the two most recent projects, the £4m Adrenaline Indoors Adventure building and the 106 bedroom Hilton Garden Inn Snowdonia.
Justin took on the role of Group Marketing Director with One Hundred Knights & Knights Construction Group Ltd in 2021.
Away from his professional life, Justin has two young children and is a keen ultra-marathon runner and mountain biker.
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Angie Platt
Position: Director
Angie Platt is Head of Marketing, Brand and PR for Denbighshire Leisure Ltd (DLL) with an extensive background in the media industry and a flair for building successful brands. Formally a news journalist, Angie has worked throughout the UK in the media, on websites and editing magazines. She finally came home to North Wales where she is proud to share her extensive knowledge of marketing, graphic design and PR throughout DLL’s incredible portfolio of fitness clubs, restaurants, waterpark and theatres. During her time off you will find Angie in the forest with her dogs and exploring North Wales’ amazing landscape and coastlines.
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Nicola Sawford
Position: Director
Nicola Eaton Sawford, Chief Executive of Stori Brymbo (Brymbo Heritage Trust) – Nikki is one of the UK’s leading Customer Experience experts and has advised some of the UK’s biggest brands through PricewaterhouseCoopers and as Managing Director of Customer Whisperers. She has joined Stori Brymbo to help launch one of UK’s most exciting visitor attractions and grow tourism in Wrexham. Nikki will facilitate the final land and legal agreements to allow the redevelopment phase of the project to being with circa £10 million National Lottery funding. The attraction will showcase Nature, Industry and People through a unique experience. Nature – a 300 year old Fossil Forest, believed to be the best preserved and most accessible in the World. We will reveal the forest in a unique live excavation environment and preserve the fossils in situ, becoming a ‘walk through’ ancient fossil forest experience. In addition we are developing circa 40 hectares of reclaimed land as parkland, footpaths and activity spaces for the community. Industry – the restoration of a series of unique buildings and the creation of an experience that gives a powerful experience of the industrial heritage of Brymbo through Iron, Coal and Steelworks that have dominated the area for generations. People – community is a huge part of what we are doing, connecting people to their history and creating opportunities for work, learning and developing new interests. Nikki has lived in North Wales almost all her life and raised her children here, she is keen to share her professional knowledge and experience, that is usually the preserve of the big London based brands, with organisations in North Wales to benefit the region. She is creative, visionary, motivational and very willing to roll her sleeves up to and get things done. And she’s very keen to learn from and collaborate with other tourism brands in North Wales.
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