Coronavirus: Tourism Industry Update
Please follow the news reports and for latest advice regularly visit the Public Health Wales website and the Business Wales website
BULLETIN CONTENTS - A stronger, greener, fairer Wales for everyone; Tourism Recovery Plans; Events Guidance; £3 million north Wales town centres fund to open for applications; COVID-19 business support; Changes to the CJRS from July 2021; Skills and Recruitment; Reminder for businesses; Domestic cruising returns safely to Wales; COVID-19 UK Tourism Consumer Tracker Survey; New smoke-free requirements coming on 1 March 2022; Reminder: Welsh Fire Services are calling for holiday home owners to take action; South Wales Valleys Business Resilience Conference; Wiki Loves Earth 2021 in Wales
A stronger, greener, fairer Wales for everyone
The First Minister has set out ambitious plans for a stronger, greener and fairer Wales as he launches the Programme for Government.
The 5-year plan sets out the ambitious commitments Welsh Government will deliver over the next 5 years. These will tackle the challenges that Wales is facing and improve the lives of people across Wales.
Climate change and the environment will be at the heart of the new government – a new “super-Ministry” has been created, bringing together the big policy areas to help Wales reach its legally binding target of reaching Net Zero by 2050.
For the first time, transport, planning, housing and energy are brought together, with the environment, to tackle the climate and nature emergencies, making sure climate change is firmly on the agenda for every public service and private sector business.
The Programme for Government 2021-2026 is now available online.
Tourism Recovery Plans
Developed in collaboration with industry stakeholders, the Welsh Government Tourism Recovery Plan - Let’s Shape the Future: working in partnership to reconstruct a resilient future for the visitor economy in Wales was published in March.
The UK Government’s Tourism Recovery Plan was announced last week setting out the role that the UK government will play in assisting and accelerating the tourism sector’s recovery from COVID-19.
Events Guidance
Guidance for event organisers of regulated gatherings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is available and can be viewed on Keep Wales Safe: creating COVID-aware events.
£3 million north Wales town centres fund to open for applications
A £3 million fund piloted by Welsh Government in four north Wales town centres to encourage entrepreneurs to set up there is now open for expressions of interest and will open for applications next week.
The fund will assist entrepreneurs to set up businesses in Bangor, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl and Wrexham. The funding will be a combination of grant funding and loans to help entrepreneurs who are starting out.
The pilot aims to encourage entrepreneurs while also helping revitalise town centres which have been hit hard during the pandemic. The scheme will run for a year initially.
The loan element has been developed with and will be operated by the Development Bank of Wales offering loans from £1,000 through to a maximum of £50,000.
The fund will open for applications from 21 June.
Read the announcement in full on Gov.Wales.
COVID-19 business support
Although applications for the COVID-19 Economic Resilience Fund with a turnover of more than £85k are now closed, local Authorities across Wales are still accepting applications for those businesses that are eligible with a turnover of less than £85k. This grant will remain open until 30 June 2021.
Information on various business support is available on the Business Wales website.
Changes to the CJRS from July 2021
There are changes to Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) from July 2021.
The UK Government will continue to pay 80% of your furloughed employees' usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,500 per month, to the end of June 2021.
In July, CJRS grants will cover 70% of employees' usual wages for the hours not worked, up to a cap of £2,187.50. In August and September, this will then reduce to 60% of employees' usual wages up to a cap of £1,875.
Visit the Business Wales website for more details.
Skills and Recruitment
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Grwp Llandrillo Menai includes Coleg LLandrillo, Coleg Menai and Coleg Meirion Dwyfor and delivers courses across Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire and Gwynedd. Businesses with vacancies can complete the Employer Vacancies Form and submit it to employerjobs@gllm.ac.uk - the vacancies will be posted on the college website and highlighted to students.
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Coleg y Cymoedd has campuses in Aberdare, Nantgarw, Rhondda (Llwynypia) and Ystrad Mynach. More information is available on the Coleg y Cymoedd To discuss your vacancies please contact the Employment bureau team on 01443663229/07971341251 or email Futures@Cymoedd.ac.uk
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Bridgend College can discuss a variety of methods for supporting with recruitment for Businesses of any size across South Wales. More information can be found through cyfleoedd.co.uk and contacting Steve Jones - Cyfleoedd@bridgend.ac.uk or 01656 302302 ext 184
We will continue to collate and share this type of information, in the meantime please contact your local college to see if they can help with advertising your vacancies.
For further information on skills, recruitment and training support for your business, as well as other support such as Wellbeing for employers and employees, visit our Skills pages.
Reminder for businesses:
As you re-open, please ensure that you are aware of and following the updated UKHospitality Wales Guidance in addition to the Guidance for Tourism and Hospitality businesses. (Please watch this short film to help you find your way around the guidance).
As each premises is different, businesses should read all guidance to understand the measures to be considered to re-open the business safely.
Key areas businesses need to remain focussed on are:
All hospitality businesses should take action to increase ventilation at their premises. This is such an important step that you, as a hospitality business, can take to reduce the risk of spreading coronavirus in your pub, bar, café or restaurant.
Good ventilation reduces how much virus is in the air. It helps reduce the risk from aerosol transmission when someone breathes in small particles in the air after a person with the virus has been in the same enclosed area.
Think about what extra measures you can introduce to improve airflow by opening windows and propping open internal doors (but not fire doors) wherever possible.
In Wales, it is compulsory for hospitality businesses - including pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants - to collect details of staff, customers and visitors to support the NHS Wales Test, Trace, Protect service. This means that if you run a hospitality business, you must introduce an electronic or paper-based system that will record the name, contact details and arrival time of every customer (excluding children).
This is a legal requirement and is vital to supporting contact tracing in the event of an outbreak. Asking customers to use the NHS App is not enough and does not exempt a business from collecting this information.
Staff working in all indoor and outdoor areas accessible to the public must wear masks (unless they have a reasonable excuse). This means that masks must be worn by staff serving customers food and drink and when staff move around the premises.
This is a legal requirement in indoor spaces and masks must also be worn by staff serving customers outside. Your customers must also wear face masks when not seated to eat or drink at their allocated table.
Checklists are available which outline the key measures for Keeping Records, along with Social Distancing and Hygiene, that you should implement to keep your staff, customers and visitors safe.
You can also use the Business Action Card which provides you with information on how to keep COVID-19 out of your premises, what action to take when an employee or customer tests positive and how can you minimise the spread of COVID-19 in your business. This has also been shared as guidance to enforcement officers with Environmental Health teams and Incident Management Teams at Local Authorities for use as they visit hospitality businesses.
Domestic cruising returns safely to Wales
As the cruise industry resumes its sailings to Wales, we will see the first cruise ship safely sail into Swansea since the beginning of the pandemic.
The first phase of cruise restart is UK domestic cruising for fully vaccinated UK residence. The first passengers to arrive into Swansea Port will be on board Noble Caledonia Island Sky. With robust COVID-19 protocols in place where passengers will be continually tested and adhere to Welsh Government COVID-19 guidelines. The Island Sky will berth on 21 June at Swansea Port with significantly reduced passenger numbers of 68 due to social distancing on board. They will be able to take part in organised shore excursions under strict rules and guidelines. The Island Sky will also call at Fishguard on 22 June and at Holyhead Port on 23 June. Island Sky’s sister ship, the Hebridean Sky, will call into Swansea on 24 June.
The health and wellbeing of local communities is taken extremely seriously by cruise operators and they continue to work closely with port operators, port health authorities and health protection groups within local authorities and Welsh Government. The cruise lines have worked in collaboration with outside stakeholders, UK and Welsh Government in order to ensure a safe environment for all. All passengers are looking forward to receiving a warm Welsh welcome.
For further information on cruise line protocols go to The Operators Framework for UK Cruise Operations during COVID- 19 on the Chamber of Shipping website.
COVID-19 UK Tourism Consumer Tracker Survey
The latest report on consumer sentiment and trip intentions from the UK market is available on the VisitBritain website with fieldwork undertaken between 31 May to 6 June, during the Whitsun bank holiday.
This shows a fall in general consumer sentiment leading to a slight fall in confidence that domestic trips can go ahead over the summer months, with the main reason being restrictions from Government. However, nearly half (49%) of U.K. adults anticipate taking an overnight domestic trip by the end of 2021: 10% plan to do so this spring, 35% this summer and 25% between October and December.
New smoke-free requirements coming on 1 March 2022
New smoking laws have been introduced in Wales which affects the tourism industry. From 1 March 2022, all hotels, guesthouses, inns, hostels and members’ clubs must be smoke-free and will no longer be able to offer designated smoking bedrooms. All self-contained holiday and temporary accommodation, such as cottages, caravans, chalets and Airbnb’s will also be no smoking. Owners should therefore prepare to convert any of their smoking accommodation/ designated smoking bedrooms to smoke-free ready for 1 March 2022 - after this date it will be against the law to smoke in these areas and a fine could be issued.
Further information on how these changes affects the tourism industry can be found on the Business Wales website.
Reminder: Welsh Fire Services are calling for holiday home owners to take action
As the weather improves and the COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease, an increase in staycations is predicted with many choosing to holiday in Wales’ beauty hotspots. Fire Service’s across Wales are working in partnership with Visit Wales and holiday home owners to ensure they are familiar with new and updated guidance to continue keeping themselves and their customers safe this summer.
This toolkit offers unique tailored advice and support on taking the necessary steps required to ensure their property is fire compliant. The guidance includes handy checklists, simplified fire risk assessment advice and tips on how to reduce the risk of fire.
Read the Welsh Fire Service Self-catering Holiday Accommodation Guidance.
South Wales Valleys Business Resilience Conference
Ensuring business resilience is more important than ever, and continuity planning is something every business should be considering. At this conference, delegates will hear from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Insurance Service about how to develop a Business Continuity Plan in order to identify and plan for risks. Delegates will also hear from a panel of Valleys businesses about how they have navigated recent uncertainties. The virtual conference takes place on Friday 25 June 2021
You can find more details on the Business Wales website.
Wiki Loves Earth 2021 in Wales
This year Wales is taking part in the international photography competition ‘Wiki Loves Earth’ organised by the Wikimedia movement. The competition aims to raise awareness of protected sites globally with prizes for the best pictures at national and international level.
To enter the competition, share your pictures of the landscapes, flora and fauna of Wales’ protected areas during June, and help showcase the beauty and diversity of our countryside.
See the Wiki Loves Earth 2021 in Wales website for full completion details.
Useful COVID-19 information
As each premises is different, businesses should read all guidance. This continues to be updated so please check back regularly for the latest information.
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Stay up to date with tourism industry news
We are committed to providing the support and assurance the business community needs during these unprecedented difficult times and have issued several Coronavirus (COVID-19) related bulletins which can be found on the Tourism Industry Coronavirus (COVID-19) Bulletins page.
Business Wales is providing businesses with tailored support and advice about dealing with coronavirus, from financial and supply chain planning to advice on staffing issues. We would advise Tourism businesses and stakeholders in Wales wanting specific guidance to visit the Business Wales website or call Business Wales helpline on 03000 6 03000, and to regularly visit the Public Health Wales website for up-to-date public health information for you, your staff and your visitors.
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