1. Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what actions the Welsh Government is taking to develop tourism in Islwyn to aid economic regeneration? OAQ(5)0199(EI)

Yes. Our tourism strategy sets out our principles and priorities to support the industry across Wales. This includes marketing campaigns in the UK and overseas, it includes capital development funding for new and existing tourism businesses, and it also includes revenue funding for regional projects.

Thank you, Cabinet Secretary. The Valleys taskforce has expressed its desire to use the wonderful natural landscape of Wales to promote our economy. In Islwyn, we have the wondrous Cwmcarn forest scenic drive, which we need reopened. We have the historic grade II Navigation colliery, with its grade II listed buildings. Cabinet Secretary, what can the Welsh Government do to showcase the great Valleys to the world and, as a consequence, revitalise our economy?

Well, can I thank the Member for her further question, and also thank her for the keen interest she’s shown in the visitor economy? The Valleys could benefit considerably from the growth in tourists to Wales in recent years. The thematic years, I think, have been particularly beneficial, being focused on the great outdoors, building on the primary purpose that people come to Wales for holidays for, which is to experience adventure, the great outdoors, outdoor discoveries. And I’m hoping that, in the years to come, communities in my colleague’s constituency will benefit further from our initiatives.

In terms of the specific projects that the Member highlights, I do believe that the Crumlin Navigation colliery is probably the finest surviving group of former colliery buildings in Wales, and it’s been supported with financial resource from the Welsh Government to undertake reclamation works. It’s my hope that we will see further improvements there in the years to come.

In terms of the Cwmcarn forest drive, this is something that I know was incredibly popular when it was in operation. Perhaps we could look to the Year of Discovery in 2019 as a way, and as an opportunity, to reopen that drive. I think it would be fantastic to see it reopened. I do recognise the challenges—financial challenges—facing Natural Resources Wales, but we are looking for major events, new and innovative activities, which can be launched in 2019, and perhaps I could meet with the Member to run through the opportunities for that particular project and more widely in her constituency.

Cabinet Secretary, earlier this month, the director of the Welsh Centre for Tourism Research at Cardiff Metropolitan University said that Wales is not reaching its full potential in attracting high-spending international tourists. She pointed out that Wales was not doing as well internationally as our competitors, getting about 3 per cent of visitors and 2 per cent of spend. Given the importance of tourism to the Welsh economy, what action does the Cabinet Secretary intend to take to increase the number of international tourists coming to Islwyn, and Wales altogether? Thank you.

Yes, I appreciate the points made by the Member. The challenge of getting international visitors out of London is one that faces all regions outside of London. Wales is not unique in that regard. But we have redoubled our efforts to attract visitors to Wales, and the results, I think, are quite impressive, in terms of all types of visits. We saw an increase of 15 per cent last year on the previous year. In terms of day visits, we’ve seen numbers increase to above 103 million last year, and, in terms of international visitors, trips were up last year by 10.8 per cent compared with the year before. In terms of spend, which is really what matters to businesses in the visitor economy, the sums that were spent increased by more than 8 per cent. It is now a fact that, when visitors come to Wales on day trips, they now spend more per head than is the UK average. But we don’t want to rest there—we want to continue to attract more international visitors to Wales and that’s why we’re increasing our marketing activities, making sure that we attend more travel expos abroad, bringing in more tourism experts and travel writers on familiarity trips, to get more people interested in the incredible offer that we have in our country.