Welsh Government
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Tourism industry confident for the summer holidays with legendary summer of sport providing a boost.
Findings from a recent tourism barometer survey has found that confidence among the tourism industry is strong for the summer holidays with major events held in Wales providing a boost to the industry.
During Whitsun bank holiday and half term, most sectors of the industry welcomed an increased number of visitors compared to the same period last year, 32% reported an increase in visitors.
At the beginning of June, football fans flocked to Cardiff and the surrounding area for the men’s and women’s UEFA Champions League Finals. Business boomed for many, with 41% in the South East reporting more visitors over the bank holiday – 47% of these said the football matches contributed to the lift.
Another major event supported by the Welsh Government takes place this Sunday as the third Velothon gets underway, which will see around 10,000 cyclists taking on the challenging routes in a closed road sportive.
Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, said:
“Spectators in Wales usually give visitors and home-grown competitors, alike, a real warm Welsh welcome for the Velothon - this makes for a fantastic atmosphere. With the legendary performance by Geraint Thomas in making history this week by becoming the first Welshman to wear the famous yellow jersey, I’m sure that many will be inspired by his efforts and will be looking to make their own legend this weekend. Our summer of sport continues as we host the Seniors Open later this month. We’re looking forward to welcoming back some of the golfing world’s biggest players with Bernhard Langer back on the course he won on in 2014 and facing the likes of Tom Watson, Colin Montgomerie and home favourites such as Ian Woosnam and Phil Price.
“Already this year we have successfully hosted the giants of Real Madrid and Juventus on the UEFA Champions League Final and welcomed the ICC Champions trophy to Wales and the Seniors Opens is yet another opportunity for Wales to demonstrate our capabilities in hosting world class sporting events, a real “summer of sporting legends”.
The summer months, which are often the best performing for the tourism industry, are filling businesses with confidence. The vast majority off all sectors are showing a positive level of confidence as they head into peak season. Confidence within the tourism industry remains positive, with 87% of respondents having some level of confidence going into the summer season. This includes 39% who are ‘very confident’.
Although the outlook is positive, the economy remains a double-edged sword. Some businesses say that more British people are staying in the UK, as Brits look to reduce the cost of their breaks and holidays. But with less money going around, other business note that people’s lack of funds is resulting in reduced visitor numbers.
33% of businesses say that profitability is up so far this year, compared with 2016. 18% of businesses who have welcomed more visitors say that one of the reasons for the lift is that more British people are staying in the UK. This is particularly true of the self catering (30%) and caravan and camping (23%) sectors.
In addition, the recently published Great Britain Day Visits Survey also reported that In the 12 months ending May 2017, there were 98.4 million tourism day visits to Wales, with an associated spend of £4,166 million. The number of visits has increased 8.5% compared to the 12 months ending May 2016, while the amount spent has increased 21.1%.
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