Memorandum submitted by the Department
of Heritage, Welsh Assembly Government
1. INTRODUCTION
The Welsh Assembly Government welcomes the opportunity
to submit evidence to the Committee's inquiry into tourism. Tourism
is a strategically important growth sector for the Welsh economy,
contributing 6.1% to Welsh Gross Value Added (GVA) and supporting
93,600 Welsh jobs.
The creation of VisitWales in April 2006, following
the mergers, provided important new opportunities for greater
co-ordinated support for the tourism sector across government.
This submission provides a high level overview
of the tourism sector in Wales, considers the opportunities and
challenges ahead and sets out our strategic priorities going forward.
2. THE TOURISM
SECTOR IN
WALES
The Tourism Satellite Account for Wales estimated
that in 2003:
— The direct tourism-related value
added in Wales was £1.3 billion, which is 3.6% of the whole
economy value-added in Wales in 2003.
— The direct, indirect and induced
tourism value-added was estimated at £2.2 billion or 6.1%
of the Welsh economy.
— There were 93,600 tourism-dependent
(direct, indirect & induced) workers in Wales or 8.7% of the
Welsh workforce.
Statistical Overview
— Tourists spend £3.4 billion
a year on trips in Wales, equivalent to £8 million a day;
— In 2006, 77% of UK tourists
to Wales come for a holiday, 12% to visit friends or relatives
and 9% for a business trip;
— The average length of stay in
2005 was 3.8 days compared to five days in 1992;
— In 2006, 1.135 million visitors
from overseas spent £358 million on trips to Wales. The most
common origins of overseas visitors were Republic of Ireland,
USA, and Germany;
— Welsh golf courses attracted
145,200 visiting players from the UK and contributed £24.3
million to the local economy;
— Conference and other business
related activities are currently worth well over £300 million
a year to the Welsh economy;
— The vast majority of UK visitors
to Wales—some 90%—participate in activities such as
walking swimming, visiting historic attractions and visiting museums
and galleries;
— A third of total expenditure
amongst UK visitors to Wales is on accommodation, while around
a fifth is on food and drink.
Long term trends
Within the UK, the long term trend has continued
to see an increase in the numbers of UK residents taking their
main holidays abroad. The number of longer holidays taken abroad
increased by 12.6% between 2001 and 2005. Increasingly, large
numbers are also choosing to take short breaks abroad with a 35%
increase between 2001 and 2005.
In Wales, the UK market is the biggest source
of tourism business for Wales and in 2006, generated 82% of trips
and 89% of all spend. Spending by staying and day visitors to
Wales amounting to £3.4 billion, with the overnight tourist
contributing more than £2 billion in direct visitor spending.
In common with the UK, the short holiday market
has grown significantly while the traditional long holiday has
continued to decline. In 2006, short breaks in Wales accounted
for 36% of all holiday spend compared to 18% in 1991. Short holiday
trips now account for 43% of all holiday trips compared to 38%
in 1991, resulting in a reduction in the average length of holiday
from five nights in 1992 to 3.8 nights in 2006.
In recent years Wales has also seen an increase
in conference and other business related events and an increase
in visits to friends and relatives. In 2006, 77% of UK tourists
to Wales came for a holiday, 12% to visit friends or relatives
and 9% for a business trip.
Support for the tourism sector in Wales
VisitWales has the primary responsibility for
promoting tourism in Wales and is supported by the Tourism Advisory
Panel made up of industry experts. The panel provides independent
strategic advice to the Minister for Heritage to challenge priorities,
identify new opportunities for innovation, and to monitor and
evaluate the effectiveness of current programmes. The Chair of
the Tourism Advisory Panel represents Wales on the VisitBritain
Board.
Tourism in Wales is mainly represented by small
family run businesses, with most businesses employing less than
ten employees and only 6% of hotels having over 40 bedrooms, with
most national and international operators based in south east
Wales. In response to the distinctive small scale and niche market
nature of tourism, VisitWales funds four Regional Tourism Partnerships
whose goal is to develop, implement and monitor regionally tailored
strategies to promote sustainable tourism. VisitWales also helps
to fund the Tourism Training Forum for Wales providing a means
of addressing potential skill shortages in the industry.
VisitWales also works closely with the 22 local
authorities and three National Park Authorities on destination
marketing, product development and visitor management. VisitWales
maintain a close working relationship with the Wales Tourism Alliance,
which was set up in 1997 to provide a unifying single voice for
the industry and through its membership organisations represents
some 7,000 tourism businesses.
3. OPPORTUNITIES
AND CHALLENGES
Sustainable tourism
Currently 86% of UK staying holiday visitors
arrived by car (UKTS 2006). Our aim has been to encourage those
visitors who travel to Wales by car to explore the area by bike
or public transport once they have arrived. There have been a
number of initiatives in Wales designed to encourage visitors
to explore their destination by public transport, particularly
in the national parks eg Snowdon Sherpa and Green Key, Puffin
Bus and Greenways Pembrokeshire and Brecon Beacon Bus, all designed
to enable walkers to have access to the national parks without
the need to use a car.
Initiatives are continuing in Wales to encourage
tourism operators to become more sustainable in their operating
practices through publications such as the Greening Your Business
Toolkit, targeted at tourism small and medium size enterprises
(SMEs) and encouragement of tourism businesses to become Green
Dragon accredited (an environmental management system designed
for tourism SMEs. The Welsh Assembly Government has also been
encouraging local authorities to introduce Integrated Quality
Management (IQM) systems to improve the quality of the visitor
experience through better management of their tourism destinations.
IQM relies on regular measurement of visitor satisfaction levels
and the monitoring of the environmental, social and economic impacts
of visitors so that the negative impacts on the destination can
be addressed and minimised.
In addition, Wales has sought to improve the
quality of the coastal environment and the management of our beaches
through the Green Sea Partnership, which is chaired by Visit Wales.
Since the launch of the partnership in May 1996, the number of
Blue Flag Award beaches, have increased from two to 43 and a new
Green Coast award for rural beaches introduced, with 50 beaches
receiving the award in 2006.
The Welsh Assembly Government published a Sustainable
Tourism Framework in November 2007. The purpose of this framework
is to encourage action by public, private and voluntary sectors
to make tourism in Wales more sustainable.
Overseas markets
The relatively high spending and less seasonal
overseas market is one area which VisitWales has sought to prioritise
and in recent years, Wales has succeeded in attracting greater
levels of overseas visitor spend. This has risen from £248
million in 2001 to £358 million in 2006, an increase of 44%.
VisitWales works closely with VisitBritain to
promote Wales as a destination internationally and new working
arrangements with VisitBritain are providing more direct opportunities
to promote Wales' distinctive brands and products, especially
in our more developed and short haul markets. VisitBritain considers
VisitWales to be a strategic partner in helping to deliver its
priorities and targets and, as such, VisitWales is consulted on
strategic and operational issues that are of interest to Wales.
It is important in this process for VisitWales to be able to challenge
VisitBritain's proposals at an early stage of development and
also to influence pan UK decisions that are likely to affect Wales.
As circumstances change as a result of political, economic, market
and budgetary influences, it will be important to ensure that
the relationship between VisitBritain and VisitWales remains "fit
for purpose" to ensure that the benefits arising from overseas
tourism are maximised for both the UK and Wales.
Major events
— The Welsh Assembly Government
recognises the opportunities that the London 2012 Olympic and
Paralympic Games will offer in terms of the unrivalled profile
that the Games will bring to Britain. Wales stands to benefit
before, during and after the Games and we are working closely
with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department
for Trade and Industry to ensure that the opportunities for Wales
are maximised. It will be important for us to promote our key
sporting arenas as venues for the Games and to provide support
to businesses seeking to provide products and services. The Cultural
Olympiad offers opportunities to profile the regions of Britain
and encourage visitors to stay longer and visit other parts of
Britain.
— In addition, high profile events
such as the Wales Rally GB, the Centenary of the National Museum
and National Library, the Ashes Tour, 2007 Rugby World Cup, Smithsonian
2009 and the Ryder Cup in 2010 will offer the opportunity to raise
awareness of Wales as a tourist destination.
— The Ryder Cup in particular,
puts us in an excellent position to raise Wales' global profile
prior to and during 2012. We will use the event to enhance awareness
of Wales as a dynamic and innovative place to do business and
use it as a catalyst to strengthen the tourism offer throughout
Wales.
— Cultural tourism is one of the
fastest growing sectors in Europe with projected growth rates
of 15% per annum and socio economic trends favouring future growth.
With Wales being one of the few countries in Europe to have a
cultural tourism strategy and a national cultural tourism partnership
in place, we are well placed to capitalise on forecast growth
trends.
— Wales has sought to capitalise
on its superb natural environment for the further development
of activity tourism. It has product development strategies in
place for all the key activity products relevant to Wales such
as the "Catching the Wave" Watersports Strategy. Wales
is now recognised as offering world class centres for mountain
biking.
Low cost airlines
Over the next 10-15 years the continued growth
in low cost airlines is likely to present both a challenge and
an opportunity for the UK. The low cost of air travel means that
it is often cheaper to take a break in Europe than a break in
the UK but, equally, UK destinations in close proximity to such
airports could potentially benefit from an increase in inbound
short breaks.
Conversely, any introduction of fiscal or regulatory
measures to curb the growth in air travel due to concerns about
climate change could potentially boost Wales' attractiveness as
a domestic tourist destination for short breaks and long holidays.
4. ACHIEVING
OUR POTENTIAL
The national tourism strategy Achieving Our
Potential (2006) sought to develop a customer focused, innovative
and profitable industry, which makes an increasing contribution
to the economic, social, cultural and environmental well being
of Wales. The strategy identified five challenges for tourism
in Wales:
— Distinctive Branding—the
continued development of a distinctive and credible brand that
challenges perceptions and stands out from the rest, and which
is reinforced at all levels of the industry.
— Higher quality—While
Wales has a growing number of high quality tourism products much
still needs to be done to ensure that it is perceived as a high
quality destination that offers a distinctive experience throughout
the year. More businesses will need to provide quality products
which meet and exceed the changing needs and expectations of visitors.
Investment in the product; together with innovative ways of working
are required to capture growth markets. The harmonisation of grading
schemes across Britain can act as the catalyst to grow accommodation
participation in grading schemes, which, as a result of the guidance
provided by a quality adviser, can lead to quality improvements
over time.
— Easier Access—Welsh
tourism products need to be more accessible to the key markets
via online visibility and other more traditional channels. Whilst
some tourism accommodation businesses in Wales have been at the
forefront of online booking, it remains a challenge to encourage
more accommodation providers to realise the full potential of
IT, including that of online booking. Wales has the opportunity
to benefit from the development of more direct air links between
Cardiff and key overseas markets and improved business links with
international airports serving Wales.
— Skills—Recruitment
and retention remain a significant challenge and present a barrier
to achieving higher levels of professionalism in the industry.
Work across a variety of fronts continues to promote the development
of skills. Particular attention is being paid to the continuous
enhancement of management and leadership skills, improving chef
skills, raising the standards of customer service, encouraging
training providers to understand and meet the training needs of
the industry, and developing closer links between the HE sector
and tourism.
— Partnership—to
develop effective collaboration within the industry including
strong partnership working at the national, regional and local
level for tourism marketing and development.
5. CONCLUSION
The tourism sector in Wales has a high growth
potential offering a rich cultural heritage, and a stunning natural
environment. Wales offers ample opportunities to participate in
activities such as mountain biking, fishing, golf, watersports
and cultural attractions.
Our aim in future is to secure a sustainable,
long term future for the tourism sector through responsible destination
and business management. We will work to continue to develop a
customer focused, innovative and profitable industry, which makes
a valuable contribution to the economic, cultural and environmental
well being of Wales.
December 2007
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