The Wales Brand

Part of 1. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Transport – in the Senedd at 2:03 pm on 26 September 2018.

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Photo of Ken Skates Ken Skates Labour 2:03, 26 September 2018

Can I thank the Member for his supplementary question and say how delighted I am to answer the question directed at me? But it would also be remiss of me not to wish him the very best for the election and the outcome later this week. I think it's fair to say that Ministers were not happy at all at the agreement that was reached. It was a commercial decision by the Royal Welsh. It was a decision that Ministers were not aware of and, in terms of standing up against the UK Government, well, I can say we were not happy at all at that decision, at that agreement, and that was expressed to the Royal Welsh agricultural show. In future years we want the brand of Wales to take front and centre stage, and the Member is absolutely right that branding work doesn't just benefit the visitor economy; it benefits the entirety of our economy, and our brand work, I think, in particular, that has been applied to the trade and invest campaigns, has seen a uplift of 60 per cent in visitor traffic to tradeandinvest.wales in the past year. We are applying all branding to the Wales food and drink marketing work, and we're also using the Wales brand for health campaigns now. The first health campaign that we applied the brand to was the GP training campaign, and that led to a 16 per cent increase in GP training places filled. So, I think it's fair to say that the new brand isn't just an award-winning brand—it's been a hugely successful commercial endeavour—but, with regard to the specific issue that the Member raises about the Royal Welsh Show, again, I would reiterate that we were not content with the agreement that was reached.