Our aim is to create engaging content that inspires and informs audiences, encouraging them to consider Wales and choose it as an attractive, viable destination to visit for a short break, holiday, or a day trip.

We encourage creativity and don't require editorial content to stick to fixed templates, but we find that much of our content does tend fall into some identifiable formats. Following a similar structure for each of the formats helps to provide some consistency for users, so we've outlined some guidance and provided examples below.

When creating content use this guidance along with the Editorial content style guides which include -

Regular formats 

Lists 

Voice: Cymru Wales or guest writer
Word count: 800-1000

Synopsis: Lists are groupings of products and/or places on a specific theme or topic. Providing signposts to multiple destinations / activities / products / people with or without prescriptive order.

Editorial content elements required: Headline should be enticing but not click-bait with an intro para to provide context and expand on what the list is of, or for. All lists should provide a broad range – ensuring geographical spread where appropriate. 

Cymru Wales voice lists must be neutral and should not be ordered, numbered or ranked. Rather than top ten or five of the best, use must do, ten great or don't miss.

Where lists are authored by external contributors we respect editorial choice and so in this instance may be personal favourites backed by experience. Giuest authored lists are by-lined with a short author bio and headshot image.

Examples: Lists

Cymru Wales voice

Authoured

Itinerariesitineraries

Voice: Cymru Wales or guest writer
Word count: 800-1200

Synopsis: Itineraries are guiding recommendations of, or stories from, multi point journeys.
They may take the form of a route (a specific trail for following e.g. walking, biking, driving), or an itinerary (a journey with recommendations to be followed in specific order and/or in specific timeframes).

Editorial content elements required: A headline and intro paragraph should provide context. Trips should usually be broken down into point by point, or day by day, with a heading for each and be illustrated with one or more maps and images to provide context and ‘show’ rather than tell the experience.

Examples: Self led itineraries and Guided tours

Authored

Cymru Wales voice

Travelogue 

Voice: Guest writer
Word count: 700-1200

Synopsis: Travelogue is a mid-length, mixed-media narrative format in which a named author recants the experience of a journey, documenting the experience of an amazing excursion and ideally including some personal reflection or revelatory discovery.
The exposition of journeys and destinations should be through relatable personal expressions, not just the views of authoritative “experts”.

Editorial content elements required: An enticing headline with intro para leading into running copy that uses illustration and example, sparking interest for wannabe travellers to emulate visits.

Examples: 

Insider guide 

Voice: Guest writer
Word count: 800-1000

Synopsis: Insider guides can be utilised in a number of ways. 

As a guide to visiting a single destination explored through the eyes of an individual. This example should focus on the merits of a single place or landscape.
They can also be used to highlight a particular activity. With a passionate author sharing why Wales is a great place to partake in their chosen pastime.
Insider guides can also be used as a platform for evergreen content to accompany and elevate selected events and festivals, allowing them to be showcased before, during or after the ‘live’ event. Highlighting what future attendees can expect. These may be author-led with an author who is an attendee of the event/festival providing the insider knowledge, or from the Cymru Wales voice with knowledge of past events.

Editorial content elements required: Headline, short author bio (where authored) and intro para to set the stall for the article.
Running copy broken up with headings an illustrated with plenty of images. Optional video documentary, showing the locations/activity. Text narrative should compliment any video content but avoid duplication.
Video will be embedded from YouTube/social media and should be able to be viewed as a standalone film on the platform without users having to read the article copy. 

Examples: Insider guides

Locations

Passions / activities

Events

Virtual visit 

Voice: Cymru Wales or guest writer
Word count: 500-700

Synopsis: Virtual Visit is the umbrella for content and experiences that whet audiences’ appetites, by utilising experiential and immersive formats. These formats place viewers in the beauty, adventure or excitement of Welsh places wherever they are in the world in order to elicit “wow” moments that beckon real visitation interest.

Editorial content elements required: Virtual Visit is conceived primarily for off-site production and consumption, but some formats allow for on-site embedding.
Off-site productions shall use surrounding text with links back to key VisitWales articles and objects.
Execution is dependent on the nature of the experience…

Live mobile video streaming projects:

  • “Walk & Talk: Join and chat with one walker, live, as he walks the breadth of an entire nation, taking in historical sights and meeting different people along the way.”

Live mobile video streaming events:

  • “Hiking: Climb Snowdon with Richard Parks”
  • “Mountain biking: Pedal Brechfa’s thrills with MTB Wales”
  • “Extreme sports: Zip between Pengelli’s tree-tops - just don’t look down”
  • “Drive around Wales: Coast-to-coast live, in a DB9”
  • “Events/festivals: Festival No 6 VIP pass”

360-degree video recordings (motion):

  • “Kayak down the Teifi in your own coracle”
  • “Soar with a Red Kite, through this bird-mounted 360 cam”

Mountable-camera video recordings:

  • “Dog-cam: Rover meets the coastal walkers”
  • “Mountain bike: Downhill, flat-out”

360:

  • YouTube 360/VR format supports standard video player embed, allowing embedding of experience on VisitWales.

Examples: 

[Note to editors: We are keen to commission more content in this strand]

Information 

Voice: Cymru Wales
Word count: 500-700

Synopsis: Generic pages used across the portfolio of sites to accommodate informational, rather than editorial, content. The purpose of these pages is to provide information to the user in a simple and accessible format. The focus should be informative and engaging rather than being just a ‘thin’ article.

Editorial content elements required: A ‘says what is is/does headline and short intro paragraph set the content and the article copy is formatted as either a list, or as running copy.

Examples: 

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