The Welsh Assembly Government has earmarked a £19m towards the development of heritage tourism in Wales.

Largely funded by the government and a £8.5m grant from EU Convergence Funds, the project is intended to maximize the economic value of heritage by increasing the volume, length and value of visits to Wales. The project, which will run until December 2014, has been created to make heritage sites more accessible and enjoyable to visit for both visitors and Welsh residents. Cadw - the guardian organisation for Welsh heritage sites - plans to work with communities, heritage partners and the tourism sector to create heritage tours, trails and events packages. The organization intends to expand the visitor experience beyond individual heritage sites, to connect with the local community and surrounding area as well as link in with broader interpretive stories and themes.

As well as investing in sites operated by Cadw - such as Harlech, Denbigh and Conwy Castles - the government will see money ploughed into heritage sites across the Convergence Area covering the western half of Wales and the Valleys. These sites include Oystermouth Castle, operated by the City and County of Swansea. Heritage minister, Alun Ffred Jones, said: "The historic environment of Wales is diverse and striking; it is one of the main reasons why so many people like to visit Wales. It also plays a crucial role in enabling us to tell Wales' story and to give our visitors and residents a better understanding of our history and culture.

"Tourism is an extremely important part of our economy, contributing more than £3bn a year, I welcome this further investment in Welsh tourism. Howard James, heritage tourism project co-ordinator with Cadw, said: "In a five-year project like this, there is scope for new partners and service providers to come forward with proposals. We've been consulting with communities and other interested bodies across the Convergence Area for 18 months in preparing the bid [for EU funding], so we know there is a lot of interest out there. Now the work begins to procure the project elements in line with EU guidelines".