Conwy's leader appeals to Welsh Government amid 'tourism crisis'

Conwy's Council Leader has written to the First Minister asking him to prepare the way for tourism businesses to reopen.

Cllr Sam Rowlands is asking for tourism to be considered in Welsh Government’s review of lockdown measures on 18th June.

In his letter Cllr Rowlands writes, “If tourism businesses in Conwy and the rest of Wales aren’t able to trade at all this summer, many of them simply will not survive. More than one in four people in Conwy County are directly employed in tourism.”

“When considering the health and safety of our communities, jobs are an important part of that mix. If our tourism sector collapses, the job losses will be felt in communities throughout Wales, with all the mental and physical health consequences such job losses bring."

Here is the contents of the Sam Rowlands letter to Welsh Government today.

Dear First Minister

I am writing to ask you to give notice on June 18th for tourism businesses in Wales to prepare to open in mid-July and to remove the 5 mile travel restriction.

There are two main reasons for this. The first is a short-term consideration; if tourism businesses in Conwy and the rest of Wales aren’t able to trade at all this summer, many of them simply will not survive. As soon as furlough comes to an end we will see mass redundancies across the length and breadth of the country. More than one in four people in Conwy County are directly employed in tourism, with over 135,000 employed in the sector across Wales, and many more employed in it indirectly.

The tourism supply chain extends through every part of our economy, from food producers to printing companies. So many of the SMEs that make up our economy rely on the tourism sector for their business. We have businesses who have invested over last winter and will be crippled if they are not able to bring in some income to cover the costs of those investments. We have farms that depend on tourism to make their agricultural businesses sustainable. With non-essential shops, and so many other parts of everyday life set to re-open over the coming weeks, we cannot exclude tourism at exactly the time of year when these tourism and related businesses generate the bulk of their income.

My second consideration for asking for tourism to be re-opened in July is more long-term. Our tourism sector, backed by investment from WG and the efforts of Visit Wales, have worked and worked to build their profile, numbers and profitability over the past ten years. It has been a hard slog but these businesses have driven year-on-year growth to the extent that the tourism economy is now worth over £900m per annum to the economy of Conwy County, and over £3.2 billion each year to North Wales as a region.

We have changed perceptions of Wales as a tourism destination, built new confidence and attracted new audiences. If we remain closed while England is open, all that hard work will be lost, visitors will change their habits and holiday elsewhere. Our businesses will have to start all over again in trying to win them back to Wales. Many businesses will not have the stomach for this, some will close, others may re-locate. The double whammy of not having income this year, while simultaneously losing visitors for future years, could quite simply be catastrophic for our tourism sector.

I appreciate the concerns of some communities with the removal of the 5 mile travel restriction and infection control if people are travelling around and into Wales. Tourism businesses would need to open safely and sensibly. I would look to your officials, as well as those in my own Council, to support businesses to open in a way that supports the management of this concern.

It is also important to remember that, when considering the health and safety of our communities, jobs are an important part of that mix. If our tourism sector collapses, the job losses will be felt in communities throughout Wales, with all the mental and physical health consequences such job losses bring.

I therefore ask you again; prepare the way for tourism businesses to reopen when you review lockdown measures on 18th June. The livelihoods and well-being of so many people in Wales depend on that decision.