Early summer sun gives tourism industry a boost
Recent tourism survey results show that the good weather of May
and early June has given the industry a boost - with confidence high for the
summer ahead.
The Wales Tourism Business Barometer showed that after a slow start to 2018 due to bad
weather, the industry is now looking buoyant. 33% of businesses had more
visitors during the May/June half term compared to last year, and close to half
have had the same level.
By far the most common reason for improved
performance is better weather – cited by 56% of businesses experiencing
increased visitors. Following a boost in visitor levels 87% of those businesses surveyed are feeling confident for the summer ahead.
In support of this good start to the year, our Visit Wales’ Year of the Sea campaign will continue
during the summer holidays to ensure that Wales is able to attract those
looking for short breaks and summer days out. Many of the Welsh
Government’s funded Year of Sea projects will also come to fruition over the
summer.
Tourism Minister, Lord Elis-Thomas, said: “Over the
last few months, I have seen first-hand the quality and diversity of what we
have to offer in Wales, and how hard those in the industry work to give
visitors the best experiences. Tourism is a hugely competitive global sector
and we will continue to work with the industry to further improve and innovate.
We need to continue to give people compelling reasons to visit Wales –
whatever the weather.” Read more.
UK summer campaign
Our integrated summer campaign to entice potential
visitors still to book their summer break to
come to Wales kicked off
last month with The Year of the
Sea film featuring Luke Evans back on Video on Demand on ITV and all4 (Channel
4) and Sky adsmart ads on digital television.
The campaign - weighted towards London and the South East - is heavily
focussed on our digital activity supported by press ads in consumer titles such
as Coast and Simple Things and advertising packages in key publications
including London Evening Standard, Observer, theguardian.co.uk, BBC Countryfile
magazine and National Geographic Traveller.
Through our digital Summer/Autumn activity we’re
continuing with our approach of changing perceptions and driving consideration
of Wales as a quality destination. The next phase of our digital campaign will
capitalise on cultural trends such as ‘opt-out culture’ young professionals
wanting to switch off from tech overload, ‘experiences not things’; the desire
to ‘do’ rather than ‘buy’. This approach allows us to focus on Wales’ strength as an outdoor playground and promote core products. We’ll also be doing some interesting digital
work around ‘nostalgia and zeitgeist’; a combination of romance and emotion
combatting rapid technological change.
We’ll be growing and enhancing our approach across social channels
especially on Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube and working with social
influencers and external partners in areas such as yoga, water sports and
culture.
 Year of the
Sea: ‘Coasts Alive’
July sees us moving on to our Year of the Sea summer
theme, ‘Coasts Alive’.
The focus will be on celebrating festival season on the
Welsh coast, stretching the entire length of Wales. There are music and food
festivals, cycling events, beach sculpture tournaments, storytelling, the
Ironman festival, the National Eisteddfod and lots
more.
Wales’
coastal cities, towns and villages will be alive with activity which you can find out about here. Whilst you’re online, you can also find out
about the epic new attractions and events happening in the mighty castles that
guard our coast by visiting www.cadw.gov.wales.
Walkers
will be picking off sections of the 870-mile (1,400km) Wales Coast Path. Others
will plot a more leisurely path, glamping, camping or staying in boutique
hotels and enjoying our seafood in its peak season.
Make sure you share your coastal events and stories across social media on @visitwales using
#findyourepic.
Also, take a look at
our latest film featuring Anthony and his son Blake, and find out why their
family break in Wales was the best ever.
Wales Destination
Management Partnership plans
Tourism destinations
across Wales have been successfully developing strong public/private sector
partnerships over the past few years to improve the approach to destination
management and its communication. Each destination partnership has now
developed a plan setting out the priorities for tourism development within
their destination over the next few years.
Find out more
information about the destination management partnership and their current
plans and priorities here.
8 practical tips for recruiting and keeping good chefs
As any hospitality
employer knows, it is harder than ever before to find and retain talent in the
kitchen. Recruiting great chefs is tough - keeping them is even tougher.
The good news is it’s not unsolvable, but businesses who are beginning to crack
the problem are taking a different approach. Here are 8 practical things you can do, right now, to help alleviate the chef
shortage.
You can also find out more
information on skills and funding to support the industry in developing and
recruiting staff.
Calling all camping,
caravan and holiday parks
The
survey of the impact of the holiday-park sector on the UK economy is well
underway and greater input is being sought from Welsh camping, caravan and
holiday parks.
It is important to all of us that our parks
take part as extensive input provides robust data and leads to reliable
output! Help ensure that the information for
Wales is as good as it can be and complete the short survey here.
VIBE - London, 8 & 9 October: Manchester, 11 October 2018
VIBE
is a unique UK based opportunity to meet and discuss your business with VisitBritain’s
London and overseas commercial, PR and business-to-business teams.
This
year VIBE takes place in London on 8 and 9
October and in Manchester on 11 October
and will include a seminar programme alongside pre-scheduled one-to-one
appointments with representatives providing invaluable market insights. Places
are limited - find out more and register here.
Destination
Britain China 2018: 19-22 November – bookings now open
Destination
Britain China provides a unique platform for British
destinations, products and suppliers to do business with up to 100 top tour
operators from across China and Hong Kong. To support suppliers there is an
introductory welcome reception on the first night to help you to network and
engage with the buyers as well as a Gala dinner for all attendees on the second
evening. Register now or to find out more and discuss
further email Lowri Jones. Cost - primary delegate
£3,450 + VAT; secondary delegate: £2,100 + VAT. Trade Access
Programme (TAP) Grants available for this event. Learn more.
Brilliance of the Seas basks in the Anglesey
sunshine
Holyhead last week welcomed one of the largest cruise ships to visit the
Port -The Royal Caribbean’s ‘Brilliance of the Seas’; a 90,090-ton, 2,112
passenger capacity cruise ship, with passengers mainly from the USA.
Tourism Minister, Lord
Elis-Thomas had the opportunity to step on board the ship to meet with the crew
and captain and explore how Wales can further increase its share in the
lucrative cruise sector.
The cruise ship market has been identified as growth market for Wales. In 2016
the cruise industry was worth an estimated £7 million to the Welsh economy.
There are 103 planned cruise calls across Wales in 2018, a year on year
increase of 15%. Holyhead will welcome 53 of these calls - an increase 30% from
2017.
The Welsh Government and Cruise Wales have been working in partnership with
Local Authorities and Ports on a marketing programme for Wales as well as
improving what we have to offer in Wales for the cruise market. Read
more.
The Dog Friendly Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards
The countdown has begun to find the
very best dog friendly tourism businesses in Pembrokeshire. Following on from
the success of the first ever Dog Friendly Pembrokeshire Tourism Awards in
2017, the awards run by Pembrokeshire Tourism are back for 2018.
If you provide outstanding dog
friendly service, provision and innovation or know of somewhere that does then
vote now. Nominations are now open until 14 September. Find out more here.
The Smoke-free Premises and Vehicles (Wales)
Regulations 2018 - have your say
Welsh
Government is seeking your views on proposals to extend the
areas covered by smoke-free regulations and remove some exemptions. Make sure
you have your say on draft regulations for smoke free premises and placing a time limit on the exemption that permits designating rooms
in which smoking is permitted in hotels, guesthouses, inns and members’ clubs.
Closing date 17 August. Find out
more here.
New Marine Wales platform launched
A new platform
has been launched on the Business Wales website providing a shop window for all
marine activities.
Following engagement with stakeholders, Welsh Government has
created the Marine Wales space to promote investment in the Welsh Marine
area, promote business opportunities and sustainable development in our seas.
It also features items on the Welsh Seafood industry and recent sea activities.
Take a look.
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