Businesses are cashing in on N. Wales’s stunning coast
USINESSES across the region have been given a chance to capitalise on “Wales’ Year of the Sea”.
This year the Welsh Government (WG) is promoting products, events and experiences around the shore-line, rivers and lakes of Wales in its continuing bid to push different aspects of the country’s economy.
It builds on the 2016 Year of Adventure which focused on adrenaline fuelled, literary and culinary style events and Year of Legends 2017 which celebrated Wales’ past, present and future.
According to the WG, themed years do pay dividends, with 2016 estimated to have generated an additional £370m for the Welsh economy – an 18% increase on 2015.
Next year will be the Year of Discovery, which will build on the three previous themes and emphasise that Wales is ‘alive’ with events and activities.
Launching this year’s campaign WG Tourism Minister, Lord ElisThomas said: “The themed year gives us a chance to celebrate our unique 870-mile Wales Coast Path, our 230 beaches and 50 islands and the fact that we have more Blue Flag beaches per mile than anywhere else in Britain.”
He added: “We’ll be using the year as an opportunity to focus on Wales’ shores, and this will include not only our seas, but everything from our lakes, to our rivers, and journeys to the sea and will be a celebration of our coastal communities and culture.”
Companies have been encouraged to get involved with themed events and work together with others to make it a success.
According to WG figures, Wales’ coastline is consistently the most popular visitor destination for tourists.
In 2015 it attracted more than four million overnight visits and £800m of expenditure.
Additionally, in 2016 there were 25 million day visitors to the coast, accounting for a spend of £897m, amounting to 24% of all tourism day visits taken in Wales and 22% of spend.
That is a much higher proportion than Great Britain, with just 11% of all tourism day visits to GB being to seaside/coastal destinations.
To coincide with this year’s launch, significant investment was being made in coastal locations through the WG EU funded Tourism Attractor Destination scheme.
That included £3.9m for the Colwyn Bay Waterfront and a £6.6m investment for a new terminus building at the Welsh Highland Railway in Caernarfon, with an extension to cultural facilities at Galeri as part of the wider programme to regenerate Caernarfon’s Waterfront. There has also been a recognition that Wales lagged behind England in terms of perception as a costal destination and the campaign was seen as a means to close that gap.
Wales Year of the Sea has also served to get businesses to capitalise on the best markets to attract people to the country’s coast and waters.
Research has shown the most popular type of coastal trip is generally a short break (three nights or less), though longer holiday trips of up to seven nights are also popular; 70% of all visits to our coast originate from the North West / Merseyside, the West Midlands and from within Wales. It has also shown 19% of that 70% came from Wales, showing how important the ‘home’ market is, with just 4% from London, 5% from the South East and 6% from the South West.
In addition Wales accounted for 17% of all domestic overnight visits to the coast within the UK, more than any other region except South West England (where it’s 32%).
And for international visitors, research indicated that 53% visited a Welsh coastal location, and 38% went walking by the coast - higher proportions than for any other region of Great Britain.
Businesses which have benefitted from Year of the Sea have included RibRide Adventure Tours, based in Porth Daniel Menai Bridge, which is currently building the fastest passenger rigid inflatable (RIB) in the world, supported through Visit Wales funding.
Skipper Phil Scott said: “Wales Year of the Sea has helped massively. This year we are launching the new Velocity craft which we are building with funding from the WG.
“We have called it RibRide Velocity as a nod towards a partnership with Zip World, which would normally be regarded as a rival tourism business.
“However we have a reciprocal marketing agreement to work together and signpost customers to each other.”
But while the WG has been positive about the impact of its themed years, Mike Learmond, senior development manager, for the Wales Federation of Small Businesses has been critical of the amount of money spent and marketing co-ordination.
He said: “Any marketing campaign which promotes Wales as a world class tourism destination is to be welcomed and we certainly should be showcasing the wonderful coastline and related activities which Wales can offer.
“However the fact remains that the marketing budget for Visit Wales is woefully underfunded compared to similar bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
“A recent piece of work from FSB Wales on the impact of tourism has shown that Visit Wales needs to better integrate with SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) to be more effective.
“In addition, local tourism marketing is fragmented. For example, each county in North Wales markets their own locale, which can be confusing for the potential visitor. It would be much better to join forces and promote the wider region of North Wales as a destination.”
Responding, a WG spokesman said: “Our award winning themed year marketing campaigns have been welcomed by the industry across Wales and have coincided with increased national and international recognition of Wales’ fantastic tourism offering, with leading travel publications Lonely Planet and Rough Guides both selecting Wales (and North Wales in particular) as one of the World’s premier places to visit..”