Fourth Report - Wales as a global tourist destination

Wales has a unique culture and language, boasts some of the most spectacular landscapes in Europe and offers a wide range of sporting activities. We are concerned by Wales’ relatively low profile overseas and that it attracts such a small proportion of the international visitors coming to the UK.

We believe that there a is lack of awareness of Wales’ strengths as a holiday destination. Wales lacks a coherent brand for the overseas market. Marketing of Wales must be stronger, with a clear theme devised to attract international tourists based on Wales’ unique strengths and attractions.

We believe that there is substantial potential for growth in the Welsh tourism market as the global economy recovers post covid-19, and that the tourism bodies responsible for promoting Wales need to grasp that opportunity. Visit Wales must be nimble enough to capitalise on emerging opportunities to market Wales to an international audience, such as the huge international popularity of “Welcome to Wrexham”.

We recommend that VisitBritain and Visit Wales work together to develop a strategy, by February 2024, for promoting Wales as a first-choice destination for international visitors to the UK. A key aspect of this should be the development of a distinctive brand that raises awareness of Wales, which can be used consistently to help market Wales and to raise awareness of its location as a holiday destination.

Visit Wales should investigate working with the Welsh diaspora to increase the diaspora’s attachment to its Welsh heritage, with a view to increasing international visitors to Wales. (Paragraph 40) Role of VisitBritain in promoting Wales

It is important that UK Government bodies responsible for promoting Wales abroad reflect the distinct identity of each part of the UK in their activities. We are not convinced that VisitBritain is achieving all it can on behalf of Wales. A single Chief Executive for both VisitBritain and VisitEngland does not inspire confidence that VisitBritain is committed equally to increasing tourism to all nations of the UK. We question whether VisitBritain has the knowledge and expertise required to successfully promote Wales and its attractions. We heard criticism of the UK Government’s GREAT campaign in promoting Wales. We remain to be convinced that Wales has benefited from this campaign.

VisitBritain does not sufficiently promote Wales in its marketing materials, nor does it make a focused offering to international tourists of Wales’ attractions. Wales can be reached from London within a few hours. However, it is often not included in UK holiday packages offered by tour operators. (Paragraph 60) Wales as a global tourist destination 31

When developing a joint strategy to promote Wales, as a distinct destination, we recommend that VisitBritain and Visit Wales encourage tour operators to include Wales in UK holiday packages. We expect VisitBritain to report its progress on this issue by February 2024.

VisitBritain should make improvements to better reflect Wales as a distinct location, with an increased Welsh presence in its marketing materials and a greater number of Welsh tourism offerings featured on its website. VisitBritain should report to us on progress made by February 2024.

We await to see whether current VisitBritain marketing campaigns will lead to an improvement in international visitor numbers to Wales, compared with 2019 figures. We expect VisitBritain to report 2023 international visitor figures to us by February 2024. (Paragraph 63) Relationship between VisitBritain and Visit Wales

During our inquiry, we have heard different messages regarding the levels of engagement between VisitBritain and Visit Wales. We welcome recent efforts to improve this relationship. This must remain a priority, as good co-ordination is necessary to marketing Wales in a consistent manner.

We were very pleased with the level of co-operation we found between Visit Wales and VisitBritain in New York and Washington. We recommend that this level of co-operation is replicated across the UK’s and Welsh Government’s other overseas offices.

While we are impressed by much of the work of Visit Wales, we question whether the Welsh Government might be better served if the body had greater independence. We call on the Welsh Government to consider whether an independent tourism agency would better serve the interests of Wales.

VisitBritain and Visit Wales, in fulfilling the various other recommendations made in this Report, should assess how they can better collaborate, including in the sharing of data. (Paragraph 83) Transport infrastructure and Visitor Levy

We are concerned that poor transport infrastructure has a negative impact on Wales’ ability to attract a greater share of international tourists who arrive in the UK. Transport infrastructure has been underfunded by the UK and Welsh Governments for a number of years. Transport infrastructure spending should be considered a higher priority for spending than at present.

We call on the UK Government and the Welsh Government to recognise the key importance of transport to the tourism industry. We urge the UK Government and the Welsh Government to bring forward proposals to address these issues, focussing on the potential positive impact on tourism of resolving this infrastructural deficit. The UK Government and Welsh Government must look creatively at ways to better fund transport infrastructure projects. (Paragraph 107) 32 Wales as a global tourist destination

In particular, we urge that positive consideration be given to the proposed new direct rail link to Heathrow Airport from the west. This would hugely improve connectivity between Wales and Heathrow and make it much easier for international tourists to come to Wales.

We are concerned that the proposed visitor levy may have a negative impact on the number of international tourists coming to Wales. While we see some benefits that might accrue from the proposal, there are other ways in which these might be achieved. We feel that the proposal, as it stands, may have a negative impact on the attractiveness of Wales to international tourists, and on the viability of affected businesses in the tourism sector. However, we note that decisions will be taken locally, with those on the ground able to best assess whether the levy would be appropriate in their localities. We ask the Welsh Government to re-examine this issue, and if they are still intent on implementing the levy, to consider ways of mitigating its potentially negative impact on the tourism sector. (Paragraph 115) Wales as a global tourist destination 33