Visit Wales new strategy

The new government strategy, Welcome to Wales: Priorities for the visitor economy 2020-2025, was launched in January 2020. The ambition is to grow tourism for the good of Wales, aiming for skills development, equitable economic growth, environmental sustainability, social and cultural enrichment and health benefits.

The strategy highlights that Visit Wales will continue to work with the industry and take a more prominent role in promoting skills for tourism, hospitality and events. By the spring of 2020, a Tourism Skills Partnership is to be established to bring together the sector, Regional Skills Partnerships, Further Education, Higher Education and others.

The goal of environmental sustainability will be achieved by sustaining natural resources, improving environmental performance and encouraging sustainable transport. Social and cultural enrichment will be achieved by giving a warm welcome for everyone, providing opportunities for young people and promoting a thriving Welsh language and culture. There is an emphasis on inclusive tourism and the need for more access improvements for disabled visitors. A Brilliant Basics fund will deliver small-scale tourism infrastructure improvements, for example, accessible changing places on the beach.

A key priority is an innovative Cymru Wales brand delivered by a digital-first industry and the development of a Visit Wales ‘Centre of Excellence’ for digital innovation. The Centre will act as a physical hub for the brand, a creative space for professionals in the sector to work together as well as running webinars for businesses.

All of these progressive aims are timely and relevant to the Next Tourism Generation Competition 2020. This aims to promote industry engagement with education. Read about the launch of the competition here.

Looking into the future, this is an exciting time for tourism development for the good of Wales.