Diolch yn fawr iawn ichi, Dirprwy Lywydd, and it's a pleasure for me today to introduce my first Member's legislative proposal to the Senedd. My legislative proposal is something close to my heart, and I know the hearts of many in this Chamber—our tourism industry. We know how important the tourism industry is to our economy here in Wales, and it's something we need to nurture and to enhance. I want as many people as possible from across the UK, and indeed the world, to experience what we have to offer, from our absolutely stunning natural beauty to the famous Welsh welcome. Wales really does have an unmatched offer. But we haven't always sold it as well as we could have. Think of the way that somewhere like Scotland sells itself internationally—full of mythology, major events and incomparable beauty. Now, I think we do all those things better here in Wales, but yet, in the year before the pandemic, they had three times the number of visitors that we did. And one of the reasons is that VisitScotland sits away from Government. It's not something run by civil servants sat in a Government department. They're an arm's-length body that can have the best minds from within the tourism industry itself. And that's what this proposal is looking to establish here in Wales—a tourism body run by the very people that know the industry the best. They know how to market, they know what works and they know what Wales has to offer. And these aren't big businesses—the Federation of Small Businesses have been clear in saying the tourism sector is one that's overwhelmingly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises. And that's the norm. VisitEngland, VisitScotland, VisitBritain—these are all set up in this way. The Welsh Government have made us the outlier.

So, the motion seeks to reinstate or create an arm’s-length tourism body, removed from Welsh Government influence. This would have an independent board, a chief executive officer, with a letter of remit outlining general policy asks from the Government. An independent body would mean that there are board members who are held to a high level of transparency through, for example, annual reports, yearly accounts that are audited by the auditor general, and annual business plans that include milestones and targets. They wouldn't be a footnote in departmental expenditure.

There could be independence from Government funding. Both VisitBritain and VisitEngland are able to draw on private sector funding, so this could be a cut in costs in itself. And an arm's-length body would sit above politics and policies, and instead act as a critical friend to the Welsh Government, working together and supporting it where it gets things right, but then standing up for the industry, rather than the Government, when they disagree. Today's proposal isn't about any one policy—that sort of misses the point—but let me give you an example of what I mean. VisitBritain is an arm's-length body and it came out against the Welsh Government's pursued policy of a tourism tax, calling it 'inadvisable at a time when our sector is focused on driving up visitor numbers in the wake of the pandemic'. Could you imagine Visit Wales in its current structure ever calling out the Welsh Government like that? It's impossible to imagine. They didn't do it because they're Labour or Conservative or anything else; they did it because they're speaking up for their industry, real people that represent their part of our economy because they know it so well and want to see it thrive for generations to come.

I have so much more that I could say, but those are just some of the reasons why I've brought this legislative proposal forward today and am looking forward to hearing contributions from colleagues during the debate too. Thank you.