The Tourism Sector

Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Economy – in the Senedd at 2:00 pm on 23 March 2022.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 2:00, 23 March 2022

Well, there was significant comment on exactly this subject yesterday with my colleague the Minister for Finance and Local Government, and in questions elsewhere. Look, I've actually met the visitor economy forum today and this is a subject they've raised. There are concerns around a number of areas. The challenge though is the balance in what we're trying to do, and the balance in what we're trying to do to have a successful and healthy visitor economy, with decent jobs and decent wages, that doesn't have an unacceptable impact on communities that host parts of the visitor economy as well. And the balance in all of this can't be struck successfully if we do nothing and simply carry on as we are. So, we'll continue to engage with all those businesses in the visitor economy. What we won't do is pretend that just business as usual, as it is now, is going to deliver the successful future we all want to see. And when you're in Government, you have to decide and you have to make choices about how that balance is going to be struck. I'm optimistic that we are on the path to another successful season for the visitor economy here in Wales, and more to come for both domestic and international visitors.