Written Cabinet Statement from Jack Sargeant MS, Minister for Social Partnership, Welsh Government. Future support for Welsh tourism and hospitality.
The 15 to 21 July 2024 is Wales Tourism Week and an opportunity to highlight the companies and the people that work so hard to welcome visitors to Wales. Latest figures show that tourism-related industries generated 5.1% of Wales’ GVA (£3.8 billion).
In 2023, over 8.5 million visitors from within Great Britain came to Wales, alongside 892,000 international visitors. I want to see the tourism and hospitality industries grow for good still further with strategic and financial support from Visit Wales.
We developed our priorities for supporting the visitor economy by listening to the industry and to stakeholders with the goal of growing tourism in a way that is sustainable for the people and places of Wales.
Our reform of the rules around second home ownership and business rates, our plans to give local authorities the powers to introduce visitor levies, and our work towards a statutory registration and licensing scheme are designed to implement the Welsh Government’s vision which puts sustainability for future generations at the heart of our activity.
I am pleased to announce today three initiatives to support the tourism industry: a new themed year, more funding for basic infrastructure, and the reinstatement of our National Tourism Awards.
Visit Wales has been at the forefront of promoting Wales with targeted marketing activity and using levers such as themed years including our latest themed year of Llwybrau, Trails. I am pleased to be able to announce that the new theme for 2025 will be the Year of Croeso.
The Year of Croeso will focus on the people of Wales, those working in the industry, our unique welcome and what we love about our landscapes, culture, events, food and drink and attractions. Visit Wales is looking forward to sharing opportunities to be part of the Year of Croeso delivery and the campaign work that surrounds it in coming months.
I am also pleased to announce that we will be seeking expressions of interest during the Year of Croeso for a legacy project in Wales that supports tourism for good.
We continue to invest in the basic tourism infrastructure around Wales. Brilliant Basics is a fund that supports public, third sector and not-for-profit organisations to deliver small-scale tourism infrastructure improvements. We allocated £5 million to 29 projects over 2023-2025 and I am pleased to announce that the scheme will continue to fund small scale infrastructure projects for a further year from April 2025. We will be inviting expressions of interest in September 2024.
Visit Wales also provides financial support to tourism and hospitality businesses through the Wales Tourism Investment Fund. The Fund, which is operated as a partnership between Visit Wales and the Development Bank of Wales, has recently made combined loan and grant investments in the On the Rocks restaurant and bar in Mumbles, The White Lion Inn with Rooms in Machynlleth, a restaurant, bar and accommodation at Tenby Golf Club, Beaches Hotel in Prestatyn and Dylan’s restaurant in Conwy.
Our most important partners in delivering a welcoming tourism sector are of course the businesses across Wales that welcome and cater for our visitors. Tourism is a competitive global sector and success is reliant on our businesses investing, innovating and collaborating. We have some wonderful examples of this, and I am therefore pleased to announce the reinstatement of our National Tourism Awards which will take place in Spring 2025.
I would like to take the opportunity created by Wales Tourism Week to thank people across the sector for their passion in showcasing Wales to the world.
Jack Sargeant MS, Minister for Social Partnership, Welsh Government
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