Tourism Boom In Wales’s Year Of Adventure

Latest figures show a tourism boom in 2016, with spending by day visitors up by a whopping 44.1%. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Great Britain Day Visits Survey published today shows that in the 12 months ending November 2016, there were 98.5 million tourism day visits to Wales, with an associated spend of £3.8 billion. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The number of tourism day visits in Wales increased by 33.1% compared to the 12 months previous, with the amount spent rising by 44.1%. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

While the number of trips has also risen at GB level, the increase has been by 13% compared to Wales’ increase of 33%. Spend per visit is now significantly higher in Wales than in Britain as a whole, with an average spend of £39 per visit in Wales, compared with £34 per visit across GB. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cabinet Secretary for the Economy and Infrastructure, Ken Skates, said: ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“As one of our measures of tourism performance, it’s extremely good news that such a big increase has been reported in the number of people coming here on day trips and the amount that visitors spent. I’m delighted that the positive trends of increases during the summer and autumn are now continuing into the winter months. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“This means that our marketing work, the commitment from our industry and the innovative products which we’ve developed is having an impact. 2016 was our Year of Adventure and these figures indicate that the campaign provided a focus for product development and the promotion of Wales and gave people compelling reasons to visit Wales. As we launch the Year of Legends for 2017 in our key markets we will work to sustain these figures.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​