Thousands of visitors make the journey to peaks such as Snowdon each year. Photo: Steve Cadman CC-BY-SA-2.0

National park bosses will gather to examine ways for visitors to contribute directly to conservation and heritage schemes.

A ‘visitor payback’ scheme already operates in the Lake District and in other parts of Britain, Europe and North America, and Snowdonia National Park Authority is keen to see a similar system to help fund projects in its area.

A conference tomorrow will hear from experts about how existing arrangements are run.

A spokesperson for the Snowdonia authority said: “Similar schemes in other parts of Britain such as the Lake District and in European and North American countries have shown that offering the visitor an incentive to invest or give a small amount of additional money during a holiday stay, can benefit an area significantly.

“Buying into innovative retail discount schemes or giving direct voluntary contributions can ensure the direct involvement of the visitor, thereby creating added value experiences as well as producing a positive legacy for the local area.

“Such schemes are generally referred to as ‘visitor gifting’ or ‘visitor payback’ and are specifically designed to allow visitors to an area to make a direct contribution to conservation or heritage schemes.”

The gathering at Plas Tan y Bwlch Study Centre, Maentwrog, will look at the potential for such a system in Snowdonia.

Aneurin Phillips, chief executive of Snowdonia national park said: “The conference is an opportunity to explore the potential of developing visitor gifting within the Snowdonia national park.

“This conference will give our tourism sector the relevant background to consider whether such a scheme can be established for the benefit of businesses and tourists alike within the national park.”

More details are available on the Snowdonia National Park Authority’s website.