The world’s fastest zipline is now situated over Penrhyn quarry, with attractions located within the slate mines at Blaenau Ffestiniog—attractions within the world heritage site bringing over a million visitors each year. Since the creation of ZipWorld in 2013, over 400,000 visitors have visited the attractions annually, according to the latest figures published in 2019. There’s been significant investment in this area, with ZipWorld thought to have brought in over £250 million to north Wales’s economy. A review into the impact of the attraction by North Wales Tourism in 2018 found that visitors had the best experience in the cavern attraction. In the same year, there were 152,903 visits, precisely, to the National Slate Museum located in Dinorwig quarry. The castles of King Edward I brought in almost 600,000 visitors between them in 2019. So, can I ask, Deputy Minister, how will we ensure that visitor levels remain as high as that, and as high as they possibly can be? What is Visit Wales doing to promote those particular areas?

As you spoke about the heritage of north-west Wales, I was disappointed not to hear any mention or reference to our sporting heritage in north-west Wales, with famous sportspeople like Wayne Hennessey and George North honing their skills in north-west Wales—and they’ve gone on to represent our country with distinction in their respective sports. So, I’d hoped we’d have heard something from the Minister today to recognise their impact in inspiring future sporting stars in north-west Wales. With that in mind, Deputy Minister, what steps are you taking to recognise their contributions to Welsh sporting heritage, and also to improve facilities locally to secure the sporting stars of the future?

As the Deputy Minister mentioned, you’ll no doubt be aware that our castles are truly world renowned, and that’s certainly the case for those in north and north-west Wales. Gwrych castle in Conwy county has found new-found fame over the last couple of years, with it being home to ITV’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! Thousands of additional visitors, including Sam Rowlands, I think, have been to see Gwrych castle in recent years, in all its glory.

The Deputy Minister, I’m sure, will be mindful of the fact that we can’t talk about the heritage of our areas without talking about tourism. Caernarfon castle was used by the monarchy in 1911 and 1969 for the investiture of the Princes of Wales, and the one in 1969, for the now King Charles, was seen by 19 million people across Great Britain and a further 500 million across the world. That was selling our country to the world with our world heritage. Blaenau Ffestiniog’s historic railway was voted Europe’s best scenic railway earlier this year, and the slate landscape of north-west Wales became our fourth heritage site in July 2021, following a wonderful effort spanning a 15-year campaign.

Those are just some of the areas with significant importance, but what do they all have in common? They rely on visitors from around the world. But unfortunately, the Welsh Government wants to impose a tourism tax on these areas—an industry-killing tourism tax. That's the real threat that these sites and other important heritage sites across north-west Wales and beyond are facing. Therefore, Deputy Minister, could you outline what discussions you've had with either the Minister for finance or the Minister for Economy about the impact that this industry-killing tax will have on these sites and the heritage industry across north-west Wales? Thank you.