Enhanced regional representation for tourism sector
2 Apr 2014 03:17 PM
Minister for Tourism, Edwina Hart, has announced
a new way of working on a regional level within the tourism sector which will
see a new regional structure set up in Visit Wales and greater regional
representation on the Tourism Advisory Board.
The
new tourism strategy, ‘Partnership for Growth’ addressed the need
to look at the structure of regional tourism, in order to deliver the 10%
growth for the industry by 2020. Yesterday’s announcement comes following
the publication of the outcomes of the consultation on Regional Engagement and
Partnership Working in Tourism.
In
creating a regional team within Visit Wales, direct funding for the Regional
Tourism Partnerships (RTPs) will be discontinued from September
2014.
The
new structure will enable:
- Direct account management of high impact sector business
partners
- Stronger links between tourism businesses and
Government
- Greater regional representation on the Tourism Advisory
Board
- Increased accountability of local
delivery
- Simplified structure for tourism in
Wales
The
Minister, said:
“The announcement is an exciting opportunity for
us to look again at how tourism is supported on a regional level. This new
model will provide a simplified regional structure, focused on delivering
Wales’ national tourism strategy - Partnership for Growth and will align
with emerging priorities from the city regions, enterprise zones and other key
interventions for economic growth. This change is key to facilitate partnership
working and support more effective delivery of programmes and projects with
increased accountability on what is being delivered on a local level. I’d
like to thank the staff and board of each of the Regional Tourism Partnerships
for their hard work over the last ten years.”
Links
Consultation on Regional engagement partnership structures in the
tourism sector