A BLAENAU Gwent sculpture which commemorates the Six Bells colliery disaster is set to see a boom in visitors after it was chosen as a destination for cruise tours.

The 20-metre tall Guardian miners’ memorial statue, which is next to Ty Ebbw Fach community cafe and heritage room, was visited by more than 50 interested coach and cruise operators.

The Six Bells memorial has now been placed on tour itineraries for those disembarking from cruise ships, and Ty Ebbw Fach said they hope to take on more volunteers and paid staff to welcome them.

A statement from the South East Wales Community Economic programme, who helped finance the refurbishment of Ty Ebbw Fach in 2010, released the news today.

The cruise industry in Wales is going from strength to strength with cruise calls up 43 per cent in the past three years. This year Wales is set to host 42 cruise visits.

Cruise Wales, which is supported by the Welsh Government to cater for cruise tourists, is organising a series of new attractions for passengers in 2016, including extra heritage tours and outdoor activities.

Director of Ty Ebbw Fach, Lyn Evans, said: “We’re developing the tourism aspect of the business and have had a number of familiarisation visits over the past couple of weeks.

“The tour operators visited to investigate our product and service with the view of sending tours here in the imminent future.

“They were looking for attractions in the South Wales area to visit and were particularly impressed with what we had to offer here, especially the Guardian memorial.”

The Ty Ebbw Fach building is the former Coach and Horses pub and was refurbished by community business Six Bells Regeneration Limited, set up to provide the local area with jobs and training opportunities.

At Ty Ebbw Fach, visitors can watch two short films showing how the sculpture was made.

Ms Evans said the tour operators would also be looking to link with other Gwent attractions including Big Pit, Blaenavon and Bedwellty House in Tredegar.

She said the main aims of the cruise ship enterprise is the creation of local volunteer opportunities and the provision of training to help younger people find a route back into employment.

“We would hope to start receiving phone calls in the last quarter of 2015 for bookings through 2016. I’m quite optimistic that we will receive a significant amount, judging by the feedback we received.”