Coordinates: 51°54′50″N 2°35′13″W / 51.914°N 2.587°W / 51.914; -2.587

Ross-on-Wye (Welsh: Rhosan ar Wy) is a small market town with a population of 10,089 (according to the 2001 census) in southeastern Herefordshire, England, located on the River Wye, and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.

Ross-on-Wye was the birthplace of the British tourist industry. In 1745, the rector, Dr John Egerton, started taking friends on boat trips down the valley from his rectory at Ross. The Wye Valley's particular attraction was its river scenery, its precipitous landscapes, and its castles and abbeys, which were accessible to fashionable seekers of the "Picturesque". In 1782, William Gilpin's book "Observations on the River Wye" was published, the first illustrated tour guide to be published in Britain. Once it was published, demand grew so much that by 1808 there were eight boats making regular excursions down the Wye, most of them hired from inns in Ross and Monmouth. By 1850 more than 20 visitors had published their own accounts of the Wye Tour, and the area was established as a tourist area.