Federation of Small Businesses urges re-think of Welsh Government tourism strategy

Welsh Government needs to re-visit its approach to developing tourism in Wales according to a new report by FSB Wales (Federation of Small Businesses).

The report Croeso I Gymru – Boosting the Economic Impact of Tourism in Wales looks at a number of important issues concerning this significant sector of the Welsh economy and makes a number of recommendations for change including businesses, improving the awareness and use of the Wales brand and more effectively targeting international offices to this end.

The report also makes the case that particular attention needs to be paid to ensuring that available funding is accessible to Wales’ smallest businesses.

Analysis of the Micro Business Loan Fund shows that the smallest firm would need to double in size in order to be eligible to gain funding. Given the seasonal nature of the tourism industry, this could prove very difficult.

Evidence obtained by the FSB suggests that the majority of the funding available from government is taken up by larger business within the SME bracket. This is almost certainly the case with respect to both the Micro Small Business Fund, and the Tourism Investment Support Scheme.

Ben Francis, FSB Wales Policy Chair, said:

 “We welcome the fact that following lobbying from FSB, Welsh Government has rightly identified tourism as a ‘national foundational sector’ within its Economic Action Plan.

Given this, it’s time for the Government to re-visit its strategic approach to the industry in Wales and consider how we can more effectively support the sector and create a year-round proposition which benefits businesses, our economy and raises Wales’ international profile

“One of the most striking issues arising from this report is that the smallest firms appear to be missing out on Welsh Government support and attention needs to be given therefore to ensuring that support is not exclusive of a sub-set of the smallest businesses. We must ensure that available support is not out of reach of the majority of businesses”.

The report also calls on the UK Government to re-think its opposition to the devolution of Air Passenger Duty in line with the recommendation of the Silk Commission – a proposal which now receives the support of all the major parties within the National Assembly

Mr Francis commented:

“The importance of projecting Wales’ brand internationally cannot be underestimated. This has always been the case but Britain’s exit from the European Union presents opportunities and challenges in ensuring that we redouble our efforts to ensure a greater number of visitors to Wales and a positive impact on our economy”

Read full report here: [pdf-embedder url=”https://www.deeside.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/fsb_tourism_ENG.pdf”]