The
research was undertaken by Visit Wales in partnership with the Wales Activity
Tourism Organisation (WATO) which represents more than 600 outdoor activity
tourism providers in Wales.
The
report highlights that the sector makes a 10% contribution to the Welsh tourism
economy through £220 million spend by day trippers, £236 million by
domestic overnight visitors and £24million from international overnight
visitors.
The
survey included outdoor activity businesses as well as those taking part in
outdoor activities in Wales. Of those taking part in activities 54% of
those staying overnight revealed that they would not have made their visit to
Wales if they were not taking part in the activity suggesting that outdoor
activities are an important factor in attracting visitors to
Wales.
54%
of businesses surveyed considered that the awareness of outdoor activities has
increased over the last three years. This was attributed to high profile events
and competitions, media exposure, new activity provision such as mountain
biking facilities and a new zip wire attraction in Snowdonia.
Tourism Minister, Edwina Hart, said:
“Wales offers a wide range of outdoor activities
and adventure opportunities for visitors have an important role to play in
attracting visitors to Wales. This sector has increased in popularity in recent
years due to a demand for experiences and lifestyle-orientated holidays. The
sector also provides benefits to the people of Wales by providing leisure
activities and improvements to the local environment as well as contributing to
our goal of improving the health of the nation. The tourism strategy for Wales
aims to improve the quality and further develop the activities offered to
visitors.
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