At a time when tourism from America has been in decline, a new kind of intensive Welsh course has shown that tourist experts are right to predict the rising importance of cultural attractions to American tourists. The SaySomethinginWelsh.com Bootcamp is a week in Tresaith, Ceredigion where participants are not allowed to speak ANY English for the entire week, and it has already started to prove popular with American tourists. In the May Bootcamp, beginning tomorrow (Saturday, 22/05/10), two out of the seven participants will be from America – Diane Owen, from Alexandria in the state of Virginia, and Patricia Mitchell from Charlottesville, also in Virginia.

‘When we arranged our first Bootcamp in February, it never even crossed our minds that people would be willing to fly over from America to attend one of these intensive weeks,’ said Aran Jones, co-founder of SaySomethinginWelsh.com. ‘Now, it’s clear that the unique experience of having English banned for a week is interesting enough for our American learners to be prepared to visit Wales just to attend our Bootcamp – which of course means knock-on spend for a lot of other local businesses as well.’

The SaySomethinginWelsh.com free online mp3-based Welsh course already has learners in 38 of the 50 American states, and it is clear from the comments left on the support messageboard by Americans that there is a very strong level of interest in learning the Welsh language in America.

‘I’ve got a Welsh surname, but as far as I know it’s been at least 180 years since any of my ancestors lived there, and I don’t even know where “there” ever was,’ says Diane Owen. ‘Still, I’ve always been interested in the country and the language. I live near Washington DC, and there’s nowhere to take Welsh language classes around here – but because of SaySomethinginWelsh, I know how to dweud rhywbeth yn Gymraeg!’

‘Knowing that I’ll soon have a chance to try speaking Welsh in real situations is very motivating,’ says Patricia Mitchell. ‘I find all the lessons challenging – in a good way – and find the learning process with this method is strangely addictive. I can already see myself waiting impatiently for new lessons once I’ve finished the existing ones.’

A new report from Tourism Intelligence International entitled “How Americans Will Travel 2015” predicts that American outbound arrivals to overseas destinations will rebound after the global economic recession, and says that north American travellers will ‘increasingly buy holidays with sense and sensibility and look for status and self-improvement on their holidays.’