Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:37 pm on 23 November 2021.
Yes, absolutely, Sam Rowlands. I completely agree with that. Wales is indeed a welcoming country, and one that is very proud of its tourism offer and the welcome we keep in the hillsides, to quote the famous song. So, absolutely. This isn't about not welcoming people who are coming on holiday to spend their money with us and spend their time with us and share their life and experiences with us—of course it isn't—but those tourists want to come to vibrant communities. They don't want to come to shell towns where there are no shops and no pub, nothing, because it can't sustain itself through the winter months when there's nobody there. People want to go to a vibrant community. When I go as a tourist to different parts of Wales, I want to see a vibrant community there. I don't want to see a hollowed-out shell with just nothing but holiday lets. So, this is all about the right level and the sustainability. Frankly, I think it's essential to the tourist offer. You don't want to go to what's effectively a holiday park; you want to go to a vibrant town or village or wherever you're going, and you want to see the way that the locals live their lives, because that's part of the experience of the tourist offer.
So, this is all about the balance. It's about making sure that people can grow up, live, and expect to carry on living in the community that they've grown up in and feel part of, and then welcome the visitors in numbers, because of course that will be very much part of their economic offer. So, it's all about the balance, and as I said, I also make the distinction between people who are moving to Wales and making their home here, who are very welcome, and people who are just using it very occasionally for one or two weekends, who really do have a very bad effect on the economy, because that house would otherwise be supporting a family or a tourist offer that would be in use all the time and would therefore bring economic benefit to the area.