A county council is set to spend more than £20,000 on marketing its county in Japan.

Conwy County Borough Council hopes to attract more Japanese tourists to the region following the twinning of the castles in Conwy and the city of Himeji.

The town of Conwy has become a popular destination for Japanese tourists after it was named one of the 30 most beautiful places in Europe by the Japanese Association of Travel Agents.

It was the only place in the UK to be included on the list.

A report to members of the council’s audit committee – meeting next Monday – has said members should agree to provide £20,350 match funding for more marketing in the Far East.

This money will be used with cash from groups like CADW, North Wales Tourism and Conwy town council to provide a pot of between £38,000 and £42,600 for promotion.

Councillors have been told that the success of the Welsh team at this year’s Rugby World Cup in Japan has seen the profile and popularity of Wales increase in the country, providing more opportunities for the local tourism industry.

Cllr Goronwy Edwards said: “As cabinet member for economy and tourism, I am fully supportive of this application.

“I believe that, building on the excellent work that has been carried out by Jim Jones of North Wales Tourism, there are real opportunities for developing fruitful relationships with Japan, one of the most vibrant economies in the world.”

Cllr Emma Leighton-Jones, cabinet member for modernisation and one of the county councillors for Conwy, said: “Conwy is already benefitting from improved cultural links to Japan since the signing of the memorandum of understanding last year.

“This will now increase since the official twinning of the castles of Himeji and Conwy in October of this year.

“It is vital that we take full advantage of this interest in Conwy and I would very much like to see a co-ordinated approach to the tourism offer to include helping local businesses understand how they can improve their offer for the Japanese visitors.”