9. Will the Minister make a statement on how the Welsh Government is promoting south-west Wales as a tourist destination? OAQ54130

Thank you very much for that question. I’m pleased to say that our research shows that south-west Wales had a very strong response too in the period between Easter and Whitsun—over the Easter period, I should say—and therefore we continue to market the south-west robustly as a place to spend holiday time. As I have advertised one hotel in mid Wales, I should mention Twr y Felin in Pembrokeshire, where I stayed relatively recently.

Deputy Minister, I’m sure you’ll agree that ancient monuments could make a big contribution to tourism in any county. However, locally, in Neath Port Talbot in my constituency, there is frustration that a key monument, Neath abbey, isn’t promoted sufficiently as a tourist attraction, and there is concern that it isn’t advertised sufficiently and that there is poor access and signage to it. I’m aware that Cadw has invested in the site to try and rescue the structures, but will you commit to working with local government partners and the south Wales highways agency to ensure that this site is signed and promoted properly in order to make the best of its potential for tourism?

I have visited the Neath abbey site and have seen the work done there to safeguard the building, and I applaud that work, but I do accept that there are some difficulties in terms of accessibility to the abbey. We consider abbeys to be at least as important as our castles in our monuments strategy, and I am more than willing to work with the local authority and, indeed, any other stakeholders in the area who would wish to promote that abbey and who would wish to ensure that the heritage of our abbeys is celebrated the length and breadth of Wales.