2. Will the Minister make a statement on the promotion of tourism in Denbighshire? OQ56749

Denbighshire, and the whole of north Wales, feature prominently in Visit Wales’s promotional activities. We will continue to promote Denbighshire’s significant tourist offer, both on the coast and in the countryside, including, of course, signature events such as the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

Thank you for that response. I want to draw your attention to a campaign that's afoot to put plans in place for a cycle route from Ruthin to Denbigh through the Vale of Clwyd. That would not only link the two towns for local residents—

Sorry, Llyr. Can I just cut across you? I think we have a problem with the translation. So, can we just pause a while, while we see if there's a button that the Minister can press to make it work?

So, I will speak to ensure that things are working properly. Is it working? Can we continue? Yes, we can. So, everything is now sorted. Llyr, you can continue. 

Thank you, Llywydd. What I wanted to do was draw the Minister's attention to plans that are afoot to create a cycle route from Ruthin to Denbigh through the vale of Clwyd. Now, this route, of course, would link the towns for local residents, in terms of active travel, which we know is an important part of what the Government is keen to promote. But it would also be an additional attraction for tourists in linking two historic market towns, two medieval castles, and follow the old railway track hopefully down the valley. So, what I want to do is to invite the Minister, when he is in the region, to join with me to meet the group that is trying to deliver this route, led by Councillor Emrys Wynne, to see those plans in action and to see the proposed route for himself, bearing in mind, too, that there are exciting plans to build an open-air velodrome in north Wales in Ruthin. The creation of a cycle route to link the town with the broader area would certainly be a great benefit in environmental terms, but, as the Minister would also acknowledge, in terms of tourism and the local economy too. 

Yes, I recognise the reality that active travel opens up new opportunities to promote tourism in many parts of Wales, and the initiative that the Member identifies is a good example of that potential. I'm not sure I can give him a cast iron guarantee to visit; I have lots of opportunities and invitations to visit different parts of Wales. But I'd be more than happy to take more of an interest in not just the tourism potential, but obviously with colleagues with responsibility for active travel to see how we can support the initiative that the Member has highlighted.FootnoteLink 

Information further to Plenary

Minister, tourism businesses in Denbighshire, particularly those in my constituency in the Vale of Clwyd, have been decimated by the pandemic. The sector's recovery is going to be long and slow, particularly as there appears to be very little detail in terms of opening up from COVID over the summer, which is essentially the peak time for the trade. Minister, without a relaxation of COVID restrictions, the likes of Rhyl, Prestatyn, Bodelwyddan and St Asaph are going to find it hard to compete with their English counterparts, who will face little to no social distancing rules. Even Scotland have plans to fully relax their restrictions. How will the Welsh Government ensure tourism businesses in my constituency aren't disadvantaged as a result of ongoing restrictions, and will you publish a road map for recovery? Thank you. 

I think there are a couple of points to make in response. The first is, of course, that we have a much more generous offer to support businesses here in Wales, including the tourism sector, than over the border, and not just the general support that we've provided—at least £400 million more than the consequentials that would come from spending in England—but the fact that we continue to provide rate relief for a range of businesses, when England have already reduced that support for businesses across the border.

The second point that I'd make is that, actually, there is already high demand for tourism businesses through the summer already. And in the conversations that I have directly with the sector, their challenge is actually about getting enough staff to work within the sector itself, and we're working alongside the sector to promote people to look to work not just on a seasonal basis, but on a more permanent basis in an industry that pays perhaps more than people may realise, with the rewards that the broader sector may bring to them.

And I think the third point is that, when you come to the broad demand to end social distancing and to have dates in place, you will have heard consistently for more than a year now the approach we've taken in Wales is generally being driven by data not dates. We're considering the advice that we are getting from our own scientific advisers and public health advisers, and we need to take a balance in our public health risks, which we know are there still, even as we look to hopefully exit the pandemic, and we'll continue to make choices alongside the industry about what the future will look like. I'm optimistic about the choices that we'll get to make, but we'll do so in a manner that is responsible and not driven by demands to simply blow the doors off and allow everything to happen at the same time as other parts of the United Kingdom. We'll provide dates and data when the time is right, and the Member shouldn't have to wait very long for the Cabinet to make those choices.