Former Industrial Areas

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 1:41 pm on 22 November 2017.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 1:41, 22 November 2017

I think the Member raises a really important point, namely that tourism plays a critical role not just in rural areas and not just in our cities and in advanced economies, but also in areas of Wales that have suffered from industrial decline. I know that my excellent new colleague, the Minister responsible for tourism, will have a keen focus, just as I did, on making sure that we provide opportunities for growth in the visitor economy across all communities.

As to some industrial areas, we've been particularly successful here in south-east Wales in recent times in promoting the area through a relentless focus on adventure tourism and outdoor activities as an adventure destination across Europe, and investment in particular in the mountain-biking sector has proven to be incredibly successful and has reaped rewards.

However, alongside that, there are other initiatives such as the regional engagement fund. There's also the product innovation fund, which is designed to reward those entrepreneurs who come forward with creative ideas that will attract more visitors to Wales. I would point to an excellent example of a post-industrial area, where that's proving incredibly successful—that fund—and that would be Blaenau Ffestiniog, where we have one of the world's greatest zip-wire facilities that has regenerated that entire community. I'm keen, as a Government and as a department, that we go on supporting industrial communities in the way that we've supported industrial communities such as Blaenau Ffestiniog and other areas of the north-west and also parts of the south-east Wales Valleys.