WIREDGOV

New figures show a continued growth in the number of nights and expenditure spent in Wales during the first five months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

The latest results from the Great Britain Tourism Survey for January to May of this year show expenditure on visits to Wales has risen 21.5%, compared with 19.1% for Great Britain as a whole.

The volume of nights spent in Wales increased by 16% and people choose to stay longer, with the average length of stay up to 3.31 nights compared to 2.97 in the same period in 2014.

The positive figures follow a bumper August Bank Holiday weekend which saw crowds out to support the P1 Welsh Grand Prix of the Sea at Cardiff Bay, amongst other events happening all across Wales, including the Rhyl Air Show and World Bog Snorkelling Championships at Llanwrtyd Wells.

The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates said:

“Last year was a record breaking year for the tourism industry in Wales and early indications suggest this year will also be strong, with many customers pre-booking to visit earlier in the season and Cadw sites reporting an 8.2% increase of overall paying visitors in July.

“To see such continued positive figures for the early parts of the year is further encouraging news, not just for the tourism industry but for the economy as a whole.

“We are continuing to work closely with the industry to sustain these good figures and invest in world-class products, such as Surf Snowdonia, the world’s first inland surfing lagoon, which opened earlier this summer, to encourage a variety of visitors to come and visit Wales.

“Next year is the Year of Adventure in Wales, the first of our thematic year approaches to keep focusing on Wales’ core strengths and giving people compelling reasons to visit Wales. I look forward to working with partners to deliver a successful Year of Adventure in 2016 and build on these excellent results.”

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