Västerbotten in northern Sweden and the mountainous area of Snowdonia in Wales, UK, are similar in many ways. We've got reindeer herding, they herd sheep. The nature and scenery is spectacular and the area is remote. They speak welsh, a minority language that's spoken by 580 000 people (slightly more than the 25 000 who speak the sami language).
As opposed to southern Wales there were never any coal mining in the north, people have mainly made a living out of agriculture. But mining slate has been one source of income in the area. Most of the slate quarries are now closed, but that doesn't stop entrepreneurs in the tourism business from developing the area. Now tourism is the main employer in the area. In some parts of Gwynedd 25 percent of the income comes from tourism.
When visiting Wales I had the pleasure of meeting with Sean Taylor, an ex-military who has changed an old slate museum into an adventure park. See more in the clip above, or at Västerbottensnytt.
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