Do Mountain Training Act To Support Mountain Leaders In Wales?
UPDATE: I wrote this prior to my victory following my five year campaign to have Visit Wales operate a level playing field. Please see the update at the bottom of this blog post for details but read through to it for the full story…
I believe that my complaint against Visit Wales, that of platforming travel agents and re-sellers, with no outdoor qualifications or accreditations, and platforming many businesses that deliver guided walking as part of their provision, again without any outdoor qualification, and platforming these businesses in contravention of the Visit Wales onboarding rules whilst denying qualified mountain leaders the same courtesy is not only discrimination but that this diminishes the value and integrity of the mountain leader qualification.
Mountain Training, the governing body for mountain leaders in the UK says 'I do not believe that such a strategy, in and of itself, or the approach taken by Visit Wales and WATO diminishes our qualifications in any way.'
I expected more from Mountain Training. I expected Mountain Training to contact the Welsh Government and ask why there is a two-tier approach to onboarding leading to their members being discriminated against.
I have sent a response to Mountain Training but I am not hopeful of that being reciprocated as it took three emails and over two months to get that initial response.
Email sent to Mountain Training:
‘Thank you for your response. It took over two months and three emails, but we got there in the end. I think a call would be the best way for me to explain the situation better.
In brief then:
WATO's advice to the Welsh Government is overreach and the Welsh Government is the only national or local portal in the UK that takes this route. WATO will not explain the reasoning for this overreach.
The law is clear, if not working with those under 18 there is no need for licensing. I do not work with under 18's.
I accept that under the current rules, there is no route for listing with Visit Wales for a provider that delivers countryside walking without that provider paying for a Visit Wales Adventure Activity inspection.
Why then does Visit Wales state this:
'The Visit Wales position remains committed to delivering safe and effective adventure industry practice and we expect all our tour operators to carry out their due diligence before sub-contracting.'
Visit Wales say this because Visit Wales allows unqualified non-professionals a listing on their platform, so re-sellers, agents and local and overseas operators and they give those operators the courtesy of expecting them to work to a high standard. There are no controls in place to ensure that they do.
That courtesy does not extend to qualified mountain professionals living and working in Wales.
As the representative of my professional qualifications governing body, I do expect you, or another person at Mountain Training, to engage with Visit Wales and to ask why Mountain Leaders are required to pay for a listing but that, for example, a tour operator operating from a base in Germany and offering adventure activities and hikes in Wales, is not.
This is why I assert there is a devaluing of the Mountain Leader qualification in Wales.
Wales Outdoors is now listed on the Visit Wales platform. Not because I paid for the accreditation with Visit Wales, but because I sold it to my wife and she was able, within a week, to have a hiking business listed. She does not hold any mountain qualifications.
Finally, the upshot of years of nonsense from Visit Wales is that prestigious walking festivals such as Hay, Talgarth etc are not able to be listed on the Visit Wales platform and there are no guided hikes that are delivered by Mountain Leaders available to the numerous family and individual visitor to Wales on the Visit Wales platform. This ought to be shocking to you and of concern for the success of Mountain Leaders in Wales.’
UPDATE - After sending this email to Mountain Training I received confirmation from Visit Wales that I had forced them to see some sense in this matter. The question now is why do Visit Wales allow any unqualified leaders or re-sellers onto their platform.
I sent an update to Mountain Training:
‘It is interesting that you were not aware of the imminent announcement of collaboration with Mountain Training by Visit Wales to the change in their onboarding protocols. This would allow ML's to be platformed because of their professional status.
The question remains however, as with Mountain Training's input to the new protocols surely you'll be asking the Visit Wales platform to disallow any business offering guided walks and hikes that does not commit to only employing Mountain Training qualified leaders.
https://walesoutdoors.substack.com/p/breaking-news-wales-outdoors-victorious
Andy Lamb’
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