Tourism Industry Update
Discover Wales 2023; Business Events Wales Product and Skills review – help us shape the future of business events; Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB) webinar – Discussion and questions; Publication of latest Tourism Barometer Report (May 2023 Wave); Deputy Minister welcomes Queen Victoria’s first visit to Holyhead; Written Statement: Update on Local Taxation; £15 million ‘boost’ will increase the number of Welsh electric vehicle charging points; 2023 Senior Open Championships at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club: 27–30 July; World Refill Day 16 June; Webinar: Serving up Action on Plate Waste; Superfast Business Wales service ended 31 May 2023; New scheme to help staff at small businesses access well-being support; Value of Tourism – Conwy STEAM Survey 2022; Wales Coast Path newsletter out now; Reminder: Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme; Business Wales news updates.
Discover Wales 2023
In partnership with UKinbound members, Southern Wales, The Royal Mint and Visit Cardiff, Visit Wales is delighted to announce Discover Wales 2023, taking place 9–10 October 2023.
It will be an opportunity for UKinbound’s tour operators to visit Southern Wales and experience international Travel Trade friendly product. The event will include an evening networking opportunity and half day workshop in Cardiff to meet the 30 international-focussed buyers. Welsh businesses which have previously worked with the international Travel Trade/attended international Travel Trade events with Visit Wales are being invited to participate.
More information can be found on this link and the deadline for ‘expression of interest’ to participate is 30 June 2023, or earlier if all the limited spaces are sold.
Business Events Wales Product and Skills review – help us shape the future of business events
Meet In Wales is responsible for developing and promoting Wales as a leading business events destination and is undertaking a full review of the current offer of Business Events products in Wales, to further understand the skills training, marketing sales support and advocacy services that will enable partners to capitalise on the business events sector in Wales.
All relevant businesses are invited to participate in our review survey as your input will help us understand more about your business, your available resources and your engagement levels in business events activity.
This survey is about getting to know as many of these businesses as possible, finding out what they do, where the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities are, and seeing how we can bring our collective knowledge together to showcase the very best of Wales.
We encourage our business events community to help shape the business events narrative in Wales.
To complete the survey please visit: Meet In Wales: Destination Review 2023 Survey (surveymonkey.co.uk)
For more information, please visit: Meet In Wales Destination Review 2023 | Business Wales (gov.wales)
Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB) webinar – Discussion and questions
An in-depth session with James Berzins of TXGB was hosted in May, looking at the opportunities for destinations and local authorities. The recording from the session is now available.
Further information is available on: TXGB | Tourism Exchange GB | Booking Channel Management.
Publication of latest Tourism Barometer Report (May 2023 Wave)
The latest Tourism Business Barometer has been published. The report covers 902 phone interviews with tourism businesses across Wales and was conducted between 9-17 May 2023.
The report shows that it's been a quiet start to the year with only 18% of businesses reporting more customers to date this year than in the same period last year, low levels mean businesses are less confident about the next few months. For accommodation providers only one in five (20%) expect to be up on Wales visitors in 2023 compared to 2022, whereas about a third (34%) expect to be down. Alongside this about half (49%) of all businesses surveyed cite ‘high energy costs’ unprompted as a concern this year, and 28% say ‘other high operating costs’ are worrying them as well.
The report also contains findings on the sale and promotion of Welsh Food and Drink, forward look for accommodation, accessibility issues, and other concerns facing the industry.
Deputy Minister welcomes Queen Victoria’s first visit to Holyhead
Cunard’s Queen Victoria made her ever first visit to Wales during a port call to Holyhead on 4 June. During the ship’s first call into Holyhead Port, Deputy Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Dawn Bowden will welcome the ship’s passengers and crew to Wales and will get the opportunity to see first-hand how the ship operates. Read the announcement in full on Gov.Wales.
Written Statement: Update on Local Taxation
Rebecca Evans MS, Minister for Finance and Local Government, 7 June:
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) is responsible for compiling and maintaining the council tax and rating lists for Wales. Based on the available evidence, the VOA determines if a property is classed as domestic and liable for council tax, or as non domestic and liable for non domestic rates. The process for listing properties is supported by extensive legislation and guidance. The VOA is independent of the Welsh Government.
Both the VOA and local councils have a role in ensuring the information used for calculating liability for council tax and non domestic rates is accurate and up to date so owners and occupants are charged the correct amount of local tax.
The Welsh Government has legislated to increase the maximum premium which local authorities may charge to 300% from 1 April 2023. The Welsh Government has provided guidance for local authorities on the implementation of the council tax premiums on long-term empty homes and second homes.
Read the written statement in full at Gov.Wales.
£15 million ‘boost’ will increase the number of Welsh electric vehicle charging points
The Welsh Government will invest £15 million to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points across Wales. You can find more details on the Business Wales website.
2023 Senior Open Championships at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club: 27–30 July
Sports fans can see some of the biggest names in golf at one of Europe’s top links courses as “The Senior Open” returns to Royal Porthcawl Golf Club for the first time in six years from 27–30 July this year.
Ahead of the main event, players from across the world will seek to qualify at some of Wales’ other leading courses - Pyle and Kenfig, Southerndown and Machynys – in order to join some of the biggest names in golf. These include the likes of Bernhard Langer, who will be looking to follow up his wins in 2014 and 2017, Darren Clarke who will launch the defence of his first Senior Major Championship when he tees it up at Porthcawl and leading Welsh players such as Ian Woosnam (with 52 professional wins to his name during a glittering career), Bradley Dredge, Phil Price and Stephen Dodd, who won the title at Sunningdale in 2021.
Find out more on 2023 Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club | VisitWales and get involved in the excitement; keep up to date with preparations and share social by following @VisitWalesBiz, @Royal_Porthcawl and @TheOpen.
World Refill Day 16 June
Today is World Refill Day, a global day of action to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste. Get involved @RefillWales #WorldRefillDay.
Sign your business up to be a refill station at Refill Wales | Refill | A Refill nation from the Welsh Government.
More information about World Refill Day and how to register for the World’s first Global Reuse Summit – a free digital event for change-makers, business leaders, policy makers and innovators to learn, share and be inspired – at: World Refill Day - Refill - Join the Refill Revolution
Webinar: Serving up Action on Plate Waste
WRAP’s research shows that 1.1 million tonnes of food is wasted from the Hospitality and Food Service (HaFS) sector every year; and on average, 18% of the food purchased is being thrown away, costing the sector £3.2billion.
The free webinar takes place on 22 June 2023. For further details visit: Webinar: Serving up Action on Plate Waste | Business Wales (gov.wales)
Superfast Business Wales service ended 31 May 2023
The Superfast Business Wales service, which has been running since January 2016, ended on 31 May 2023. Practical how-to guides, expert tips to get the most out of digital technology and a Digital Toolkit are still available at: Information hub - Business Wales - Superfast Business Wales (gov.wales)
Business Wales continues to provide support in the form of information, advice, and guidance, including help for businesses to improve the use of technology or adopt new digital solutions, go to: Supporting businesses in Wales | Business Wales (gov.wales)
New scheme to help staff at small businesses access well-being support
A new scheme to enable small and medium-sized enterprises, or ‘SMEs’, to access health and well-being support was launched on 1 June by the Welsh Government. Ministers are providing £8 million to deliver the new In-Work Support Service across Wales over the next two years.
The service will provide free access to therapeutic support for employees of SMEs or the self-employed. Support will be available for people who are absent or at risk of becoming absent from work with mental or physical ill-health, with the aim of helping them to remain in or return to work. The scheme will also be available to third sector employers.
Read the announcement in full on Gov.Wales.
Value of Tourism – Conwy STEAM Survey 2022
Accommodation and attractions businesses are being asked to complete the Conwy STEAM Survey 2022. The survey aims to get an accurate and complete picture of the number of visitors and the value of tourism to Conwy in 2022. The results help decide how much funding Conwy receives towards the cost to public services.
The forms are available here: STEAM Occupancy Survey 2022 - Conwy County Borough Council
Completed forms should be returned to: Kim.nicholls57@outlook.com. The deadline for submissions is Friday 30 June 2023.
Wales Coast Path newsletter out now
To read the latest Wales Coast Path newsletter visit: Wales Coast Path May 2023
You can subscribe to the Wales Coast Path newsletter here: Natural Resources Wales (under project, select "Wales Coast Path")
You can also follow Wales Coast Path on social media: Wales Coast Path | Facebook and @Wales Coast Path.
And of course, don’t forget to check out other epic trails across Wales Llwybrau - Wales by Trails | Visit Wales. Businesses in Wales can also find out more about Visit Wales’ latest thematic year at 2023: Llwybrau. Wales, by Trails | Business Wales (gov.wales)
Reminder: Electronic Travel Authorisation scheme
A United Kingdom Electronic Travel Authorisation (UK ETA) is a British entry permit document that will soon be available online. It will allow travellers from eligible nations to visit Great Britain for a number of different purposes without acquiring a visa. An ETA will cost £10 per applicant.
Rollout will be combined with a global marketing communications campaign, which is being developed to drive awareness and action. Awareness raising events are being held providing an overview of the ETA scheme and the opportunity to ask questions.
Information and guidance about the scheme can be found on Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and a communications toolkit is available to assist with stakeholder engagement and preparing visitors.
Business Wales news updates
Make sure you never miss the latest news and blogs from Business Wales - go to: News and Blogs | Business Wales (gov.wales).
Some of the latest articles include:
Please subscribe to the Business Wales newsletter at Welsh Government (govdelivery.com) – once signed up, you can sign in and manage all your Welsh Government subscriptions in one place.
Stay up to date with tourism industry news
Take a look at our latest Visit Wales industry newsletters and bulletins: Tourism Newsletter/Bulletin | Business Wales (gov.wales).
These include the latest tourism industry news from Wales and information for the industry on Coronavirus (COVID-19).
For specific 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 to visit the Business Wales website or call Business Wales helpline on 03000 6 03000. You should 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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