WIREDGOV

Latest Welsh Government figures indicate that tourism in Wales has had a successful summer with 82% of tourism businesses in Wales reporting increased or similar levels of guests compared with August 2013. 

The results of the August Tourism Business Survey  show that 45% of all businesses had received more guests/visitors this August compared to last August and some 37% reporting a similar level of business to last August – which was itself an excellent month.  

Increases were reported across all sectors of the industry, with 59% of Serviced accommodation businesses (Hotels/Guest Houses/B&Bs) and 51% of Caravan operators reporting higher levels of business than in August 2013.  43% of Attractions reported increased business as did 27% of Self-catering operators.

Confidence levels in the industry are high with 76% reporting that they are feeling confident about the Autumn season.

As the figures were announced the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism visited  the National Trust’s Erddig in north Wales while Minister for the Economy, Transport and Science, Edwina Hart visited Llwyn Helyg Guest House in Carmarthenshire who have also had a busy summer.

Official figures also reveal that the success of the tourism industry in early 2014 has been carried through to Easter and May with figures revealing a bumper Easter and Wales outperforming the rest of the UK.

The Wales results of the Great Britain Tourism Survey for the first five months of 2014 are very positive. The total volume of overnight trips made by GB residents to Wales is up by 14.6% compared with the first five months of 2013 and well ahead of the results for GB as a whole (2.9% down). The amount which visitors spent while in Wales is also up by 9.9% while GB is down by 2.9%.

Further to this, figures for the Great Britain Day Visits Survey January-June 2014 indicate substantial increases for Wales compared with 2013. Thanks largely to increases in April and particularly in May, the total volume of day visits to Wales in the first six months of 2014 reached 48 million. This is 19% up from the 40 million recorded in this period in 2013, while related expenditure (£1,224 million) is 3% up. Related expenditure for the whole of GB was down 5% in the same period.

Welcoming the figures, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, said:

“This is an excellent time for me to be taking over this portfolio. It seems that 2014 is proving to be an excellent year for Welsh tourism, even compared to 2013 which was a successful year in itself. Although the weather has been kind this year, the weather was also good for the UK as a whole but Wales is managing to outperform the rest of GB in terms of attracting staying visitors and day visitors. Visit Wales’ marketing working is achieving its response targets and I look forward to working with the Tourism Advisory Board to realise our target of 10% growth for the industry by 2020.

“The Welsh Government values the importance of tourism, the sector has been designated as one of our nine key sectors to realise future growth for the Welsh economy, these figures show that the sector is going from strength to strength