No Celebrations for St David - No Tourism, No Growth, No Future
Wales Outdoors doesn’t usually have a place to hoist a Welsh flag but as we are out hiking in South Wales, The Senghenydd Dyke circuit, we’ll take time out at lunch to hoist and then lower to half mast the national flag of Wales. Why? Read the press release issued jointly by the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions and North Wales Tourism.
Press Release
Tourism flags at half mast and attraction closures will mark St Davids Day in Wales this year.
Last December the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions (WAVA) held a one day strike, and closed their attractions in protest at the anti-tourism policies being pursued by the Welsh Government (W.G.)
March 1st will mark the next stage in the WAVA campaign to make the W.G. change direction, and start supporting tourism in Wales.
However, this time other sectors of tourism are joining the fight including the Professional Association of Self Caterers in Wales, and North Wales Tourism.
On March 1st we are asking tourism colleagues to lower their flags to half mast to symbolise that W.G laws are damaging tourism, and are being interpreted in some quarters as being anti-Visitor which does not help Welsh tourism.
WAVA members will again be closing their premises on March 1st to signify their dismay at falling tourist numbers, the 182 issue, and the proposed tourism tax.
Ashford Price WAVA spokesperson said
"Wales has recently lost 23% of its overnight staying visitors hence we are having to fight for the very future of Welsh tourism. In many parts of Wales tourism is the number one industry, and if tourism is allowed to decline there is nothing to replace it, especially in rural Wales".
Jim Jones. CEO North Wales tourism said
"Over time, the policies of the Welsh Government have had a devastating impact on our sector, rendering many businesses struggling and unviable. Despite repeated efforts to engage through normal channels, our concerns have been ignored. As a result, we are escalating our opposition and calling on businesses to join us in a symbolic gesture of lowering flags to half-mast, reflecting the profound damage to what was once one of Wales' most stable and economically significant sectors".
No Tourism, No Growth, No Future.
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