“Poor transport infrastructure” was cited as a reason preventing Wales from attracting more people visiting the UK.
By Shelley Phelps & Rowenna Hoskin
BBC News
Wales’ hopes of becoming a global tourist attraction are hampered by confused marketing, a lack of holiday packages and poor transport connections, MPs have warned.
The Welsh affairs committee is concerned Wales attracts “such a small proportion” of visitors to the UK.
Of 41 million international holidaymakers to the UK in 2019, just over a million visited Wales.
Visit Wales said it would work with VisitBritain on how Wales is marketed.
A report by MPs on the committee highlighted the country’s “relatively low profile overseas” and said “Wales lacks a coherent brand for the overseas market”.
The report said £28bn was spent in the UK by international tourists in 2019, but only £515m of that was spent in Wales, or just 2%.
Tourism is estimated to be worth £3bn to the Welsh economy.
Committee chairman Stephen Crabb said there were “missed opportunities” for local businesses that would thrive on increased visitors and a “more concerted push” is needed to promote Wales abroad.
MPs recommended Visit Wales work with VisitBritain on how Wales is marketed in international campaigns by February 2024.
Image source, Getty Images
The MPs said there is a lack of awareness of Wales’ strengths as a holiday destination
The report said: “Marketing of Wales must be stronger, with a clear theme devised to attract international tourists based on Wales’ unique strengths and attractions.”
Tour operators should be encouraged to include Wales in UK holiday packages, they added.
“Wales can be reached from London within a few hours. However, it is often not included in UK holiday packages offered by tour operators.”
The MPs also expressed concerns that “poor transport infrastructure” was having a “negative impact” on Wales’ ability to attract more of the tourists coming to the UK.
Image source, Getty Images
Wales “is often not included in UK holiday packages offered by tour operators”, said MPs
“Transport infrastructure has been underfunded by the UK and Welsh governments for a number of years,” they said.
The report called on governments in Cardiff and Westminster to “look creatively at ways to better fund transport infrastructure projects”, including a proposed new direct rail link connecting Wales with Heathrow Airport.
“This would hugely improve connectivity between Wales and Heathrow and make it much easier for international tourists to come to Wales,” MPs said.
Image source, Getty Images
MPs said better infrastructure is needed to improve the tourist trade in Wales
The report also urged the Welsh government to re-examine its proposals for a visitor levy, warning it “may have a negative impact on the attractiveness of Wales to international tourists”.
After the report was published, Mr Crabb said: “UK organisations that should be responsible for promoting visits to Wales, such as VisitBritain, routinely overlook it in their own marketing materials.
“Tour operators fail to consistently offer Wales as a holiday destination. The transport infrastructure puts international tourists off coming to Wales, and the poor road network would make travelling to some special locations challenging.
“Is it any wonder Wales isn’t the global tourist destination it can be?”
Stephen Crabb said Wales was overlooked in international marketing campaigns
Jim Jones from North Wales Tourism said the key to marketing Wales was to build connections with communities abroad.
He highlighted a Japanese tourism guide selecting Conwy as one of the most beautiful towns and villages in Europe in 2015, and said Wrexham AFC’s celebrity owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, had helped “put Wales on the map”.
Jim Jones, of the North Wales Tourism Alliance, says “it takes money to showcase Wales on the world stage”
“Wrexham is now the gateway city into the rest of north Wales,” said Mr Jones.
He said tourist websites also need to be made multilingual to make them more accessible.
“We don’t need to change in order to bring people in, because we have the assets,” he said. “We have just got to go up there and tell them.”
Image source, PA Media
Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds’ ownership of Wrexham AFC has helped shine an international spotlight on the area
A Visit Wales spokesperson said: “We are pleased to see the report highlight the positive work of Visit Wales in relation to our own marketing, engagement with the tourism industry in Wales, and co-working in the USA. “
“We look forward to continuing to work with VisitBritain on how Wales is marketed within VisitBritain’s international campaigns, to tour operators, and in sharing of data with industry – which are crucial components of success in this highly competitive industry.”
VisitBritain chief executive Patricia Yates said the company has “generated an additional £34 million in overseas visitor spending for Wales in 2019-20 alone”.
“We’re working with international travel trade to ensure Wales is sold internationally, this year inviting Welsh businesses on trade missions to China, India and the USA.”
She said the company is “bringing international tour operators and media on visits to Wales to boost product and destination knowledge”.
She added that hey will study the findings of the report closely.
