Cardiff Airport Revamp Draws Inspiration from Welsh Culture

Tourists, be it business or leisure travelers, build their first impression of a city based on the looks of an airport, and it is important to be pleased with the conditions offered. The Welsh government bought Cardiff Airport a month ago and already has big plans in order to improve the welcoming impression. £500,000 will be used to revamp this airport, with art and multimedia installations promoting Welsh culture, heritage and businesses to be installed here, BBC reports.

“Cardiff Airport is a major gateway into Wales for air passengers and this new project will showcase a uniquely Welsh approach to business, culture, the arts, tourism and events,” said First Minister Carwyn Jones.

Welsh-based artists will create the art and multimedia installations that will also be changed periodically in order to constantly provide new content.

According to specialists in the field, one of the main challenges is to attract new routes to this airport, especially since in the past years the number of passengers dropped from two million in 2007 to less than a million in 2012. An important negative impact on the airport had the withdrawal of flights by budget airline bmibaby in 2011. It won’t be really easy for the airport to attract these new routes, taking in consideration the relatively close rival Bristol Airport.

“I think it’s going to be a very challenging time for them, I have to say, knowing what we face with competition to attract airlines, to attract new operators,” Robin Tudor of Liverpool John Lennon Airport said.

We have made inroads with a new airline called Norwegian flying out of here but that’s the first new airline we have seen out of here for a long time.

To get growth at a time when the economy is still flat-lining I think would be quite a challenge.”