5. Statement by the Minister for International Relations and Welsh Language: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:54 pm on 6 May 2020.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 4:54, 6 May 2020

Thank you. One of the things that I think has been very clever in terms of the marketing strategy is to make sure that that's been changed slightly during this period. So, the phrase, 'Visit Wales. Later' has been something that we've been trying to emphasise. But it is a tightrope that we've got to walk here, because for the time being, it is difficult to encourage people to come to those areas. That's not something we want to see at the moment but there will come a point where we want that to happen, so it is important that we get that positioning right. As you say, there's real fear within the sector and I don't think it would be right for the Government to just be striking out and saying, 'This is how we want to come out of this'. We've got to do this with the sector. The sector has to be involved with it, and that's why we are working with the sector very closely at the moment to look at what protocols should be put in place to help us come out of this, to build people's confidence, to know that when they're going into some of these tourism sectors those places will have been deep-cleaned or those social distancing issues will be respected, and that there will be a limit to how many people can go into particular places. But all of those things have to be agreed with the industry and we can't do it alone.

I think just the other thing to emphasise—. I obviously work extremely closely with my colleague Dafydd Elis-Thomas, and Ken Skates I know has a real interest in this portfolio as well. The one thing I would emphasise is that you're absolutely right: although there may be an increased emphasis in some of our rural areas, the one thing that I know my colleague Dafydd Elis-Thomas is always keen to emphasise is that tourism is something for the whole of Wales; it is not specific to any particular part. It does touch on so many parts of Wales and that's why you're absolutely right: we need to be there for the sector.