The Wales Tourist Board
30. The Wales Tourist Board was established by the
Development of Tourism Act 1969, which prohibited it from using
its own resources to market Wales internationally. In 1992 it
was given powers to promote Wales overseas, providing that it
first received consent from the Secretary of State for Wales,
who was required to consult the BTA. Since 1998, the overseas
work of the WTB has been coordinated with that of the BTA and
the other British tourist boards under an Overseas Marketing Agreement.[64]
We were told repeatedly during our visit to North Wales that the
WTB's budget for overseas promotion was simply not sufficient
for the task in hand. Their total budget is around £15.8
million (though this is planned to increase to £21.5 million
by 2003-04),[65]
of which the budget for overseas marketing is £1.5 million.[66]
This compares with a total budget for the BTA of around £35.5
million, and a total budget for the Scottish Tourist Board of
around £24.9 million.[67]
31. The WTB tries to maximise the return on its overseas
expenditure by supplementing the work of the BTA in priority markets
for Wales. It is currently active in the USA, France, Germany
and the Netherlands (which it considers to be primary markets);
and Australasia, Japan and Belgium (which it considers to be secondary
markets). However, the WTB has only one member of staff actually
based overseas, in New York.[68]
Though he was singled out for particular praise by at least two
people who submitted evidence to the inquiry, there is only so
much that one person can do with a target population of 275 million.[69]
The budget for the Wales Tourist Board is a matter for the
National Assembly for Wales. We record the concern that was expressed
to us, that the resources available to the WTB to spend on overseas
marketing may not be commensurate with those available to other
tourist boards in the UK.
32. The Wales Tourist Board proposes the establishment
of four Regional Tourism Partnerships (RTPs) to implement four
regional strategies within the framework of the national strategy
for tourism, Achieving our Potential. The RTPs will mirror
the structures of the four regional committees of the National
Assembly for Wales, the four Regional Economic Forums and the
four regions of the WDA. The idea is that the WTB will be developed
as a national strategic centre of excellence and those functions
which can best be executed at a regional level—along with
increased resources—will be devolved to four regional groupings
of local authorities working in partnership with the private sector.
As part of a three-year funding agreement, the WTB would provide
poundforpound matchfunding of local authority
contributions towards RTP delivery of the four regional strategies.
All local authority monies would initially be ringfenced for their
areas, and RTPs would determine their own priorities in terms
of area marketing and brands within the context of regional and
national targets agreed with WTB. It is intended to establish
the RTPs by September 2001.[70]
We welcome the proposal to establish four Regional Tourism
Partnerships, and in particular the fact that the devolution of
responsibilities will be accompanied by a devolution of funding.
However, we are concerned that the move from central to regional
tourism promotion for Wales will make it more difficult to promote
strong "brands" in the international market, and that
there is a danger that an element of competition will creep into
the relationships between the RTPs. These are factors which will
need to be monitored closely from the centre, by the WTB and the
National Assembly.
Promoting Wales as a first-choice
destination
33. We were also told during our discussions with
representatives of the tourist industry in North Wales that many
of their customers were second-time visitors to the UK who had
visited London and possibly some other destinations such as Stratford-upon-Avon,
Oxford, Cambridge, Edinburgh and the Lake District on their first
visit and were looking for somewhere new. Some visitors came across
Wales by accident—for example, after hitting traffic jams
in Lancashire or Cheshire on the way to the Lake District—but
they were invariably surprised and delighted by its outstanding
beauty and by the excellent value for money it offered compared
with London.
34. Among the people we spoke to in North Wales,
opinion was divided on whether it was realistic to promote Wales
as a first-choice destination. The First Minister thought that
the most promising market for international tourism would always
be those on their second or subsequent visit to Britain, or certain
niche markets.[71]
Officials from the DCMS suggested that, as people made more use
of the internet to identify potential holiday destinations, Wales
might be able to overcome the barrier of poor recognition and
low profile overseas.[72]
The Minister for Consumers and Corporate Affairs favoured "precise
targeting which is going to lure people where we want them lured".[73]
35. Clearly, one of the problems faced by the WTB
and other bodies with responsibility for promoting tourism to
Wales is the low international profile which we have already touched
upon. Another problem might be the tendency of many international
travellers to favour Heathrow Airport as their point of entry
to the UK. However, we do not see these as insurmountable obstacles
to attracting first-time visitors to the UK into Wales. The targeting
of narrow niche markets—those with a strong interest in
wildlife, castles, literature, music, genealogy or sport, for
example—might be one way to do this. Promoting Manchester
as the airport for North Wales, as witnesses from the BTA suggested,
might be another.[74]
We recommend that the BTA and the WTB should develop a strategy
for promoting Wales as a first-choice destination for foreign
visitors to the UK. This should involve working with tour operators
which bring foreign tourists into the country to try to persuade
them to include Wales on more of their itineraries, and working
with UK transport providers (such as the train operating companies)
to promote the provision of efficient, affordable transport links
between Wales and other UK tourist destinations.
50 Ev. p. 150. Back
51 Ev.
p. 143, paragraph 1.1. Back
52 Ibid,
paragraph 1.2. Back
53 Q.
246. Back
54 Register
of Landscapes, Parks and Gardens of Special Historic interest
in Wales, Countryside Council
for Wales, et al. Back
55 See
paragraph 5. Back
56 Q.
260. Back
57 Ev.
p. 89, paragraphs 65-67. Back
58 Q.
35. Back
59 British
Tourist Authority Business Plan for 2000-01 to 2002-03. Back
60 Q.
37. Back
61 Ev.
p. 145, paragraph 3.3. Back
62 Ibid
& Q. 236. Back
63 Q.
236. Back
64 Ev.
p. 144, paragraphs 1.3 & 1.4. Back
65 Wales
Tourist Board Annual Report, 1999-2000. Back
66 Ev.
p. 144. Back
67 Scottish
Tourist Board Annual Report and Accounts, 1999-2000. Back
68 Q.
202. Back
69 Ev.
pp. 135 & 142-3. Back
70 See
Roles and Responsibilities: Regional Tourism Partnerships and
the Implications for the Structure of Tourism in Wales, Wales
Tourist Board, July 2000. Back
71 Q.
35. Back
72 Q.
303. Back
73 Q.
304. Back
74 Q.
239. Back
