Therefore, the next item is a statement by the Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism on priorities for the visitor economy 2020 to 2025, and I call on the Deputy Minister to make the statement—Dafydd Elis-Thomas.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. It is particularly appropriate, in my view, that I am making this statement at this particular time. It has never been more appropriate to celebrate our culture, the unique nature and identity of Wales, our landscape and the incredible adventures that are to be had here, or, indeed, to invite people to the nation that we all consider to be particularly beautiful.

I'm, therefore, very proud of what has been done over the past five years to develop tourism in Wales. I hope that Assembly Members are, as I know most of the industry are, enthusiastic about the strong, distinctive and unique Welsh brand that we have developed and is at the heart of everything we do. But not only has this brand been used to attract visitors, it has been used too by my fellow Ministers to promote Wales internationally, to showcase the wonderful food and drink of Wales, and even to recruit to our health service.

Suzy Davies took the Chair.

The basis of the new brand is this emphasis on the 'years of', but it’s not just a matter of one year at a time. We have now extended these years over two years, so that these themes can dovetail together—themes such as 'legends', 'adventure', 'the sea' and, to come next year, the 'Year of Outdoors'. These bring different organisations, the length and breadth of Wales, together under one banner to highlight the best of Welsh culture, landscape and adventure.

I’m also particularly pleased with the investment that’s been made in the excellent products that have changed perceptions of Wales. You won’t be surprised to hear me referring to Zip World, where a new generation can experience our wonderful industrial heritage—if they have an opportunity to see what they pass so swiftly, as they get to speeds of over 90 mph. But those attractions—and, of course, Surf Snowdonia, the first inland surf lagoon in the world—have emphasised the importance of adventure in the Welsh landscape.

I also know that people the length and breadth of Wales and beyond have enjoyed the events that we have supported as a Government: the UEFA Champions League final; the Volvo Ocean Race; home-grown events such as the Hay Festival; and then when international events come to Wales, whether they're related to cycling or motoring and so on. By bringing visitors to Wales, these new products—great events and great marketing support—do demonstrate how crucial tourism is to the Welsh economy.

There are over 11,500 tourism business in Wales. These bring £6.3 billion per annum into the economy. Around 9 per cent of active employment in Wales is in tourism. And that’s why I am delighted that we as a Government have recognised tourism as part of the foundational economy within the economic action plan, and of the pathway that we have set and which we have almost delivered in our current tourism plan, namely to increase our income by 10 per cent.

This leads me, then, to our new priorities. Tourism is an economic driver across Wales. We also think that we can do more through the visitor economy in order to promote the economy more generally. Not only have we secured jobs in tourism, supported communities by supporting a sense of place, relighting our passion for heritage and culture, and creating opportunities to get out there and be active, which is so crucial for the health of our nation and our visitors across Wales—. And so, the ambition of the new action plan, as you will see on its publication in December, is to grow tourism for the good of Wales. This means that it is still important to develop tourism, but to do so in a way that delivers wider benefits to culture, to communities, and to do that by safeguarding our environment. That is, sustainable tourism—that is what Welsh tourism will be, and this vision is at the heart of the plan and will shape everything, as you will see.

I have made it clear that this is not just the vision of Government, or even the vision of one department of Government. When we started to work on this plan, we corresponded with Ministers and Assembly Members to ask about your vision for the future of tourism. That invitation is repeated here today, before we complete the plan in its final form.

I was told, when I asked people’s views, that we needed to show how tourism could contribute to our wider aims for future generations, and, as a result of that, we have set that ambition as central to the plan. We have also been discussing all of this in detail with the industry and with the sector. From the tourism summit held in March of last year, and following the questions asked there, there were around 386 people who responded with comments and ideas. And they told us that sustainability should be at the heart of everything we do.

The sector also identified some practical challenges—the need to tackle seasonality in tourism and to continue to create year-round jobs, to increase more profits and manage rising costs. We also are beginning to see overemphasis on tourism, according to some, in some areas of Wales and at some particular times of the year. So, in addition to the core ambition to grow tourism for the good of Wales, the new action plan needs to set out how we will address some of these practical challenges.

To stay ahead of our competitors, we need a product that is distinctive and ambitious, which is true to our strengths, and appeals to the markets of tomorrow. That’s why we offer the unique Welsh experiences that strike a balance between the local and the global, between what we call 'bro' and 'byd'. This means doing things that deliver local benefits, but also emphasising a strong sense of place for Wales, supporting home-grown businesses and contributing towards the wider Welsh brand, whilst also meeting world-class standards in provision.

We have, therefore, identified four priority areas for the future. The first is ‘great products and places’—we will continue to invest in innovative products that bring people to Wales.

Our main priority is ‘quality visitor experiences’. But, particularly on the basis of visits I’ve recently taken to sites that provide camping opportunities for people with special needs, particular disabilities, or mobility problems, I am very eager that we provide opportunities for people who do have mobility problems and so on to be attracted here to Wales, so that Wales has a global reputation in terms of providing for everyone who wishes to visit us.

A further priority will be to continue to develop the innovative Cymru brand, with an emphasis on digital marketing and innovation.

And then, fourth, we are eager to demonstrate that we have an engaged and vibrant sector within an economy that is vibrant, and does more to link tourism with tourism agendas such as transport and, of course, health. We will include challenges as to how tourism can address some of its impacts on climate change as part of our thinking. 

We will also be seeking to work in a far more commercial manner, through new ways of creating products that can be ordered, focusing on special interest products, and being smarter about how we work with partners in order to reach a wider audience. That is, not that we just offer these products, but that we understand what kind of products people who visit us truly want.

And, to summarise all of our ambitions, it’s to grow tourism for the good of Wales, for economic performance, but also by realising that tourism brings the whole nation together, in rural areas as well as our urban areas, in the Valleys as well as in the mountains of Snowdonia. We also need to be realistic, so that we do realise that we need to adapt our offer in order to respond to what our visitors want to see, but also to link that with Welsh needs. And therefore our overarching priority is to remind the world that Wales is open for business as a place to invest, to work, to live. And thank you all as Assembly Members and, particularly, the industry and the sector outside this Senedd for their support over the two years in which I've had the privilege for being responsible for this industry.

Can I start by just welcoming the fact that the Deputy Minister is inviting us to make our own contributions in terms of the ongoing approach to expand the tourism sector and is open to ideas? I think that many of the ambitions that have been set out will be shared. So, anyway, this is my opportunity to tell the Assembly, and the Minister in particular, about what I think needs to be in the plan and priorities for the visitor economy in the first half of the 2020s.

I think we do need to recognise the dual nature of the market. We have a large market that comes from the rest of the UK, and that's very, very important, but there's also an international market, and I think, for driving up the standards, trying to get higher end tourism and a green offer, many of the things that are now there and demanded by tourists, that needs to be remembered, because I don't think both elements of the market necessarily always work together. So, some different approaches are needed between the UK market and the international market. So, that's my first thing, and I want to see some very precise planning around that. 

I think we also need to seek growth in our international market. I do think we have just world-class offers, and I should say the Minister and I were at a seminar run by the National Museum earlier today, and one of the participants raised Caerleon, just saying said that it's such an excellent Roman site, but people go to the slightly more meagre—well, not slightly, the more meagre—site in Bath, which has this wonderful constant campaign, I suppose, going on to attract visitors. And Conwy Castle, for instance, is probably the greatest—that is, the most terrible—castle ever built by man. It is part of our heritage and people from around the world, if they want to visit a medieval castle, they should be visiting Wales. And, indeed, if it's Conwy, it also has one of the best preserved medieval town layouts still in existence anywhere in Europe. So, I do want to see a greater emphasis on the international market and also on the green tourism that is often demanded in that market. I mean, hiking holidays—Wales is completely blessed in being able to provide the most wonderful range of walking destinations, and mix that in with high-end culture and I really think there's a winning combination. 

I think there needs to be more work on the brand, frankly. This is difficult, because it costs a lot. But if you look at Ireland—perhaps Ireland's not the best comparator, given how vast their budget is on marketing, but Scotland, I think, has been driving forward and spending more on marketing. And I do think it's a great failure of the private sector, really, because it can't combine and produce that capacity to market something like a nation or its tourism offer. This is where Government needs to step in, because, really, if Government doesn't do it and lead it, it just doesn't get done at anything like the optimum level. 

I welcome your talk about a more commercial approach, because I do think that some of the standards we have need to be higher. We need more boutique hotels, we need more high-end restaurants, and that's good for the UK market and the international market, and it's good for our own local economies. Hi-tech, really good green offers, boutique hotels and all the rest of it, they can be a part of the foundational economy as well. The foundational economy means it's something that can work around the year, locally, and stays local—the money that is generated. It doesn't mean that it's a basic level of the economy, necessarily, so I would mention that.

I think in Scotland they have a very ambitious draft strategy. They've set the target of Scotland being a world leader in tourism by 2030. I think that's the sort of ambition we should state as well. And, if you do state it, I know that everyone in the Assembly would be behind you in trying to achieve that ambition.

I'm very grateful for the enthusiasm displayed in the response by David Melding. I will agree that Conwy is probably one of the most frightening castles ever built. As you know, I am a citizen of the county of Conwy, but I have to tell you that this most frightening of castles is now blessed with the latest effort in tapestry inspired by Cefyn Burgess and school pupils from that part of the world. What we are doing with our heritage sites is showing visitors that they are also places that are appreciated by the local population as well as themselves.

I certainly agree that there is a need for different approaches for the UK market and for the international market. I did try to do my bit for the international market with the new destination room that we recently opened at terminal 3 in Heathrow. Certainly, having life-sized and room-filling photographic images of Wales—albeit in the departures area rather than in an arrivals area, although we've also got other artwork in other parts of airports, both Manchester and Cardiff, obviously, as well as Heathrow—it enables people to see the value of combining landscape and culture with history, and that is a continuing emphasis that we have. So, the UK market and the international market—we are always conscious there.

Marketing is an exercise that needs both imagination and continuity, as well as substantial expenditure. I think what we've achieved now in the particular graphic design of the marketing is something that is very distinctive, which people can see and respond to. 

I obviously agree with the importance of walking holidays, and to remember those wonderful areas of our country—the coastal path, but also that amazing Offa's Dyke, which indicates clearly—

Which I've walked.

I'm sure you have.

The whole length. [Laughter.]

Which indicates clearly that we have the opportunity for long-distance hiking of the kind that you emphasised.

I also agree with boutique hotels. We have a significant pipeline of hotels and we are continuing to make sure that in our tourism offer there are always—at the head of that offer, we're seeking to invest in increasing and developing the quality of our hotels throughout Wales.

Thank you for the statement and the advance notice given of it. There is a great deal that I welcome in the statement. I agree with the comments about how important tourism can be for Wales, and that in our beauty, our culture, our food, our sports and our adventure there is means to attract visitors and tourists in a way that can bring us great economic profit. I can draw attention to things that haven’t quite reached their potential—for example, Parys Mountain—in my constituency. There’s so much more that could be done to grow that attraction, and I would welcome any kind of support for that and to tell the history of the bridges, for example, in another museum.

But I also welcome the reference in the statement to the risks of becoming overdependent on tourism. I would like to hear more about the Minister’s plans to try to manage that. Also, there is a risk that this can be a sector where salaries are too low, and there is too much emphasis on creating seasonal jobs, and not enough on assisting people in making a good and sustainable living. There isn't enough mention of that in this statement, and I would like comments from the Minister on that.

The other issue that I would like to highlight is this question of making the most of this Welsh brand. The statement is peppered with references, and I quote, to

'our strong, distinctive Wales Brand', to 'a sense of place', which suggests something specifically Welsh. And there is mention of creating

'a product that is distinctive and ambitious' and creating an 'Innovative Cymru Brand'. May I suggest, therefore, that there is a need for the Government to be much more willing to come out from under the shadow of the Britain brand? Because we know from experience, for example—although there are indications that things are improving—how weak VisitBritain has been in giving Wales attention under their brand. As a nationalist, I can see the advantages of working cross-border in Britain and in Europe in all sorts of different ways, but I would truly appreciate an assurance from the Minister that the Welsh Government will be much more determined in not diluting the Welsh brand, particularly in some circumstances where there is great strength to that brand, by allowing it to become more British.

We're talking about food here. Surely, in our own national royal show, our main agricultural and food show, we should be able to celebrate our own food. Once again, under the GREAT brand, at the gate this year, it said, 'For the finest food and drink, choose the UK'. Well, no, surely we could actually say, 'Choose Wales' at our own show.

Many people have drawn attention to the GREAT campaign trying to claim the Welsh team's success in the Rugby World Cup, saying 'Rugby is GREAT’. But, no, this is a stage where being specifically Welsh is truly valuable. There is no need to try and make the Welsh brand more British in that context. And I will never forget the disappointment of being in Paris during the Euro 2016 football championship. We went to that wonderful village on the banks of the Seine where every independent footballing European country was to be found selling themselves, and there, at the Wales stand, was the union jack under the label 'Britain is GREAT'. And that’s where Wales was. It broke my heart, and it was completely unnecessary and uncalled for and showed a lack of confidence.

We can't quite believe what the Government is saying about being ambitious and confident in our own brand if the Government cannot insist on using that brand and only that brand, certainly in those places where the Welsh brand is yelling out to be used. I would welcome some assurance from the Government that they are to be much more daring about doing that.

Thank you for that. I will deal, first of all, with the question of Grand Bretagne as compared to the lesser Bretagne, because, as people who know their cultural history and the history of nations know, 'Great Britain' is not some reference to grandeur, but that Britain or Ynys y Cedyrn, to use the term of the Mabinogion, is greater than Brittany, which is the lesser Bretagne, and that’s where the term originates. 

I see the union jack.

Well, that’s the etymology of the word. Now, I'm not responsible for what the UK Government does to promote what they describe as 'Great Britain' or for their historic misunderstanding as to the meaning of that phrase. But I will say this: it is clear to me that we need a better understanding of the nature of the UK as a multi-nation state in all material published for this unit of the British isles and Northern Ireland. Indeed, the materials for this are clearly available, if one understands the history, and if we can convey that history as an invitation to come to a diverse state in terms of its nations. And that is what’s crucial to us in our promotion work. That is maintained in our relationship. We do have a relationship between Visit Wales and VisitBritain, and we do have representation on UK tourism, but our intention always is that we promote Wales as a nation and as a unique nation.

I also appreciate the understanding of the importance of not being overly dependant on tourism in our economy. But having said that, the important thing is to promote different places that will appeal to different kinds of visitors, including those visitors coming from other parts of the UK and the people of Wales who want to visit areas of their own nation. I haven’t been able to come up with a good enough phrase for my own liking to translate ‘staycation’ into Welsh, but I would give a small prize, not a huge prize, to anyone who can come up with a Welsh term for ‘staycation’, because those two things, as was said earlier—the international market and also those people who choose to holiday in their own country—are just as important to us. Therefore, promoting Wales as Wales and as a unique nation within the UK is central to everything that Visit Wales does because that is our most valuable unique selling point.

Can I just thank the Minister for his statement and a couple of points I just to wish to raise on his statement? I welcome the ambition that comes through that statement and the desire to see a chosen strategy push for not just more visitors but a different visitor experience coming into Wales, which is crucial.

My concern, looking through it, is very often we talk about certain events such as those footballing events, whatever, they're one-off events and people come for once. And it seems to me that we need to look very carefully at the one-off visitors coming once and not coming back. And what we'll need to look at is the visitors who come back on day visits, on weekend visits, time after time because of the experience they have here. And usually that's based upon activity experience where there's walking or, in my area, mountain biking and other types of experience. So, I would like to see, within the final document, more ambition to get those returning all the time, time after time after time, and we continue to offer them an experience, not just the same experience, but a varied experience so when they come back, they actually have something different.

And to ensure that, there needs to be a strategic approach for the Welsh Government, local authorities, and other bodies to work together to ensure that when someone comes, the experience they have in one patch isn't repeated somewhere else. So, there is something different somewhere else; it's not the same thing just in another location. But we also need to make sure that, taking mountain biking as an example, what's in the Afan valley isn't necessarily the same thing that's in Merthyr or the same thing that's somewhere else. There is something different; there's another reason to be there. I think that's important and we need to ensure that the plan highlights that.

Can you also make sure that it links to the economic strategies of local authorities and regions and making sure the local authorities prioritise tourism? Because my own local authority, at one point, got rid of its tourism officers, now has them back in, but it's a small number. We need to ensure that local authorities take tourism as a serious issue for the economic regeneration of their communities.

The events, as I say, we need to attract those who return. These are basically activity-led events. Most of what you've talked about are actually an event not an activity. The zip wire is an activity, and other things—surfing is an activity. These are what bring people to us. Now, whether it's just good for holidaying on Tenby beach or whether it's actually coming to walk the different parts of Wales, that's what we need to address. How are we focusing our audience on those things? So, when you talk about your plan and when you talk about your digital under social-media approach, can you make sure that you address those aspects and where those different activities can take place, so that we can attract people in different parts of Wales, depending on what their interests and their activities are?

Now, the four priority areas—great products and places; quality experiences; innovative brand; vibrant sector—they are what we want. I appreciate that. And the quality experience you examined and highlighted, the need for toilets, actually, is hugely important, because if you go through many towns, you try and find some public toilets sometimes and you can't find them. But visitors do need that, because they don't know where the local pub is, they don't know where the local McDonald’s is to go and use the facilities, so it is important that we have those not just there, but that they're signed as well, so that people know where to find them. So, can you make sure that you look at those issues very carefully?

Can you also make sure that we look at aspects of our communities? In mine, whether it's Margam park, the Afan valley, or whether it’s Aberavon beach—by the way, if you've never been there, it’s a fantastic beach, one of the best in Wales; go and have a look at it—these different places to go can be linked up. And also the possibilities for future development, we need to look at what they can offer in the future as well. I'll highlight the Rhondda tunnel as an example of how that can be linked into the Valley walking, the cycling paths and the opportunities for regeneration—these are things we also need to look at. That’s why we need to address this and partner it with an economic plan to ensure that the economy and tourism are working together to address those points.

Thank you very much, David. When we came to look at the regional approach of the Government and look at it in relation to the needs of tourism, I was very keen, as someone who had lived in mid Wales for over 20 years and still represents a very important part of it in Meirionnydd—. Mid Wales, by the way, is Meirionnydd, Ceredigion and Powys, just in case, for the avoidance of doubt. And I was delighted last week at the turnout for the first awards ceremony for Mid Wales Tourism, and I hope to join Go North Wales, as again they describe it up there, for a further ceremony soon. I mentioned that because it's an example of the distinctiveness of the offer in the different parts of Wales. I do appreciate the distinctiveness that we have to offer in Aberavon, indeed in Margam park, or in those very different parts of Wales that still have very specific and very moving traditional buildings, such as abbeys and large churches and so on, which, again, is part of a spiritual tourism offer that I, obviously, am anxious to promote. So, the visitor experience everywhere is important.

But, I also very much agree that cultivating returners has to be a key part of our strategy—people who wish to come back again for a different experience of mountain biking in different parts of Wales. I was inaugurating in Nant yr Arian at the weekend—another tourist area that is benefiting from a new mountain biking trail. These activities, of course, it's not just mountain biking, it's also the walking, it's also the centres that are established there and the sale of local produce. I'm still looking forward to tasting a very small bottle, obviously, of local mead, which I acquired during a recent visit. So, it's all these things together—[Interruption.] No, I'm waiting to consume it, I said; it's not disappeared yet. So, the varied experience is a key thing.

I think the other important point is that I do understand the difference between an event and an activity, and I know that it's not about promoting spectator events; it's also about participation in events, and those emphases are equally important in a broad and attractive tourism strategy.

We must acknowledge that there have been some remarkable successes to celebrate in the promotion of tourism in Wales over the last five years. The themed approach was inspired and inspiring and, I think we would all agree, each, in its own way, gave a substantial boost to the tourist economy of Wales. The future plans and indeed those being implemented at this moment all have merit and should have the ability to build on past successes. You were right to point out, Deputy Minister, that Wales has a huge amount to offer—stunning countryside, a coastline of unparalleled beauty, as well as our history, both legendary and industrially. If we're talking about brands, in our flag we probably have one of the most iconic brands of flag on planet Earth. When Rhun mentioned the business of rugby, the sight of our flag at all the rugby internationals means that long after the cross of St George, the Scottish saltire or the Irish tricolour are forgotten, the Welsh flag will still be in the minds of all those people across the planet who've been watching the rugby matches. So, it's very important that we use that flag and put it on every piece of tourist propaganda or information that we put out there.

I truly believe the plans outlined in your statement have the potential to unlock the true depth of what Wales has to offer and also deal sensibly with the possibility of over-exploitation, perhaps signs of which are to be seen on our highest mountain, Snowdon, and its environs. But, Deputy Minister, a word of caution: there are moves afoot in Wales that could have a hugely detrimental impact on all these magnificent efforts. I refer here to both planned and existing speed restrictions on huge portions of our road infrastructure. We could soon be the first country in the whole of Europe, maybe the world, to have a 50 mph speed limit on our entire motorway network, albeit the small portion that we have. This, coupled with a 20 mph limit on huge portions of our urban network, will, I believe, have the effect of making Wales less attractive than other countries with less restrictive vehicle regimes. Would the Deputy Minister not agree with me that the last thing we wish to portray to the outside world is the slogan, and I say this quite seriously, 'Welcome to Wales/Croeso i Gymru, but leave your car at the border'?

I thought we were getting on very well, David, until the end of your contribution, so I will come to that briefly. Thank you for your welcome for the themed approach and the understanding of that. I do pay tribute here to the thoughtful people who dream up these approaches. When I first saw the word 'epic' on the top of Pen y Gwryd I thought, 'This is a step too far', partly because it was in what used to be my own constituency, and I still live there, and I thought, 'Well, this is over the top.' But the reality is that to be able to present a countryside in a dramatic way, you require some overstatement, and this is where I think it is possible to attract people to go to areas they hadn't intended to go to, or would like to go to as well, and that's part of taking the pressure off Snowdonia, or off Pen y Fan, which I witness very often, of course, as being seriously under pressure.

Thank you for the tribute to the red dragon. I also think it's rather a good flag, but I'm also a bit of a fan of the cross of St David, if you want a bit of variation.

I will now come to your final point. I'm not responsible for transport policy, but I do believe it's essential to have a safe motorway system, and a safe road system, and that that can be an attraction to tourists in itself. But what I also want to see is a much more effective integrated transport system within Wales and across Wales. I'm blessed where I live by through trains, all the way from my—. I can sit at a train in Pwllheli and I can be in Birmingham International before I finish my sandwiches. That is possible. Similarly, obviously, across south Wales, but also across the north and into Manchester Airport—we have these really effective connections. And when there’s a further development on Great Western, there will be a new connection coming westwards out of Heathrow, which I discussed when I was there involved with a marketing event last week. So, we must focus on Wales as a country that has more effective public transport when we have that.

I’d like to begin by thanking the Minister for bringing this statement today. The tourism and visitor economy has certainly been a creative programme and a great success to date, but it is more than tourism, as has already been stated. Creating a distinctive brand, Wales has been a significant part of this success, but it must also have a sustainable and strategic interoperability with Creative Wales. We are all very familiar with the magnificent landscapes of Wales, which attract hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, and we say that glibly, but that’s hugely important. And though our iconic coastlines, mountains and valleys must of course be a cornerstone of our tourism offer, I firmly believe that our tourism offer must be a strong cultural offer as well. In particular, I would like to ask the Minister what more can be done to utilise Wales’s reputation as a land of song as a means of attracting visitors.

We have a very proud musical tradition, thanks to our choirs and brass bands, eisteddfodau and orchestras, but we also have a thriving and successful international pop scene in both of our languages, and more, which continue to put Welsh music and Welsh talent on the map—far too many for me to list today. Ours is not just a European musical reputation, but an international one too. And I know that we have already done a great deal to celebrate our culture in attracting visitors, but I believe that music should be at the very heart of our international tourism offer. And we can be doing more to attract music festivals alongside our literary international festivals. And I’m sure that many of us who watched our quarter-final triumph over France last Sunday will have noticed the young Japanese mascot singing along to our anthem, and if ever we needed any proof of Wales’s musical international appeal, I think that is a very, very great example right there.

So, Minister, what more can we do to make Wales the land of song a priority for our visitor economy, whether that is celebrating our world-famous signers, our bands, or orchestras, or on a grass-roots level supporting venues and performers, so that more of our visitors can actually access Welsh music along the way, supporting our cultural economy in the process, alongside and cohesively working with a vibrant national music strategy—a plan for Wales for a sustainable and creative and international Wales of the future?

Well, thank you very much for that, Rhianon, and I appreciate your passion for placing Welsh music at the heart of the attractiveness of the country. And, in a sense, you have anticipated a future statement I hope to be making on establishing Creative Wales. Because I do believe that when we will have Creative Wales to sit alongside the Welsh arts council, and to sit alongside the particular contribution that is made to the life of Wales by the support that we currently give to the film and television industry, and the digital industry generally—that is a centrepiece of Creative Wales—we can see these different national institutions working even more closely together.

I am looking at a way of establishing Creative Wales on a model similar to Cadw. So, that’s a good start. We take a way of working that I believe to be working in the context of the built heritage, with a relatively autonomous board, but within Welsh Government, and that is the model that we will have for Creative Wales. Creativity has to be celebrated in a way that recognises the skills of creative workers, but it must also be celebrated in a way that seeks to treat creativity as a public good and an economic good. And that is why it is important that the emphasis of Creative Wales follows the kind of emphasis that we have used for Visit Wales. In other words, it has to be an organisation with a commercial drive, as well as a drive in more traditional perceptions of culture. I hope that goes some way to giving you a reassurance before we continue a further discussion on that aspect.

But all these—they're not institutions, they're enabling bodies. All these enabling bodies are part of what creates the attractiveness of the country. That's why the work that I'm waiting for at the moment, where Sport Wales and health promotion Wales have been working alongside Natural Resources Wales—this is a model that I hope will develop for the future, so that we are not working in terms of Government bodies that are not looking across the whole of Government for their activity.

The Llywydd took the Chair.

We're out of time on this statement, but very briefly to finish, Nick Ramsay.

Diolch, Presiding Officer, and—

thank you for your statement, Minister.

I'm still trying to think about your staycation in Wales comment earlier, given that you gave a competition. The best I could come up with was 'Cymrucation', but that's a weird amalgamation, isn't it, of two languages, and probably doesn't work? Anyway, can I just ask you about your statement and two issues in my area that you're well versed with because I've raised them many times: Abergavenny Food Festival and also Raglan castle and access issues to Welsh monuments such as that? You spoke earlier about the need to have a Welsh-wide Cymru message, if you will, for the Welsh tourism industry. But, of course, that's based on local areas, local economies, local tourism. So, how are you factoring in issues like the food festival, issues like Raglan castle and other historic monuments around Wales, and local areas into that overall Cymru message? Because we know that the overall British message only works if Wales and Scotland play their part. So, within Wales, how does that depend on the local areas playing their part?

Thank you very much for that, Nick. Raglan castle, as you know, is one of my favourite castles. I think it's in a very striking location, and its architecture is very striking. I think what we need to do in all these cases, first of all, is improve the access to these locations, especially when, as that castle is, close to a very fast-moving highway, so that people driving past will be able to see the castle but have no idea, quite frankly—there is a Cadw sign, but they've no idea how to access the site. So, I think it's essential that we have a more integrated transport and access strategy to all our castles.

I certainly also agree that it is essential that it is the diversity of the country that attracts people, but then you have the privilege yourself of representing one of the most attractive rural constituencies in Wales. People forget that Monmouthshire is almost as rural as the kind of area that I represent.

Thank you, Deputy Minsiter.