This Is How Visit Wales Limits Growth Of SMEs

Mid Wales Tourism (MWT) were about to list me on their website, Show Me Wales. For some reason, and I have asked for an explanation of this, having been told over the phone that MWT stands apart as a membership organisation and chooses who is listed on their website without reference to Visit Wales oversight, someone at MWT emailed Visit Wales asking, effectively, whether they should list Wales Outdoors, or not. Here is the communication in my possession through an FOI request.

The answer was short and directed MWT to not list Wales Outdoors.

This is clearly Visit Wales overreach, interfering in the promotion of a legitimate tourism business and will have had a detrimental effect upon bookings for Wales Outdoors during 2023.

An appropriate response would simply have been to remind MWT that they are a membership organisation and can list whomever they choose. I will not pursue Visit Wales on this matter at this time but I do reserve the right to do so at a future date.

Email to MWT

‘Thank you for chatting to me earlier. please see the copy of the information contained within the FOI that I requested and received a few weeks ago. I would be interested to know why MWT thought it appropriate to go to Visit Wales to ask about the inclusion of Wales Outdoors on ‘Show Me Wales’ and I wonder, given I was not informed of this at the time, why MWT, contrary to what you have told me today during our phone conversation, are taking such advice from Visit Wales without engagement with the provider. 

I would also like to know why Show Me Wales lists other similar businesses that are not accredited with Visit Wales. I have sent two messages using the ‘Show Me Wales’ contact form, the first at the beginning of November, detailing these businesses and events, but I have had no response. 

I am minded to join MWT but am concerned by the information and questions I have supplied in this email and would like to have this cleared up before moving forward...’

Response from MWT

‘The email you received was sent to Visit Wales following a conversation between you and one of our team members in April 2023 regarding your interest in joining membership with MWT. We routinely assess businesses that express interest in joining our organisation. In this context, we visited your website to gain insight into your operations, particularly your activities in the Brecon Beacons. Given the nature of your high-risk activities and our lack of prior history with your company, we sought information regarding your activity accreditation qualifications. However, we did not find any formal training or qualifications (logos) on your website, which prompted us to inquire with Visit Wales, where it was confirmed that they did not possess any evidence of recognised qualifications or accreditations.’

Note: My activities are not in any understanding of any UK legislation ‘High Risk’. My activities are small group guided walks on public footpaths, led by a small team of qualified and very experienced Mountain Leader guides. Further, MWT were going to list Wales Outdoors without being a member, because Wales Outdoors has live availability with TXGB, and so this is good for tourism in Wales. This is in clear opposition to the recent statements made by MWT that they only list members.

Response to MWT

‘The question must be asked why I was not contacted for my qualifications, which in any case have always been clearly visible and available on my website

https://walesoutdoors.co.uk/information/andrew-lamb/ 

and why, after MWT contacting Visit Wales, I heard no more from MWT and so my proposed joining MWT back in April came to nothing?

Yes, based upon my assumption, and correct in my case, that you were following Visit Wales advice, there are a few MWT members that are also not accredited with Visit Wales and it would appear to have no accreditation or qualifications. These I highlighted for you in my message, and as I said, please remove them or please list me. I said this under the assumption that Show Me Wales was in some way connected to Visit Wales, given the FOI info, and I of course apologise for making that assumption. 

However, Dyfi Walking Tours does not have a website, just a FB page and there is no indication of any walking qualifications. Walking the Brecon Beacons has a website but they show no affiliations or indeed make any mention of qualifications. The walking festivals, Talgarth, Crickhowell and the Real Ale Ramble I assume are not members of MWT and indeed they cannot be accredited as leaders are at the time of publication of the programme unknown, changing year on year and near impossible to be checked with the level of Visit Wales oversight required. Visit Wales staff have removed these festivals from their website for this reason. 

The question here is did MWT approach Visit Wales to seek an understanding of the status of these businesses and festivals? If MWT did then Visit Wales would have responded with the same as for Wales Outdoors and so I am surprised to find them listed on the Show Me Wales website. If not, why not and conversely why was Wales Outdoors, it would seem, alone of all guided walk providers, treated to this level of inspection? 

I am still minded to join MWT and feel that my guided walks, which have live bookability and cover most all of Wales, would be a fine addition to any tourism portal, especially as there are no providers offering anything similar for individuals and couples visiting Wales. 

I believe that services such as Wales Outdoors provides enhances visitors’ stays which in turn generates great feedback and free referrals and repeat bookings for the accommodation providers. It is this, surely, that we all ought to be working towards.’

Response from MWT

We have responded in good faith and comprehensively to your previous email and have nothing further to add. If you are interested in joining MWT, please refer to our trade website at www.mwtcymru.co.uk.

Reply to MWT

In that case I take it that you cannot or will not answer the questions raised and that you were seriously mistaken in stating to me that MWT is independent and only lists members on its tourism portals. Clearly someone at MWT was going to list Wales Outdoors on Show Me Wales, even though Wales Outdoors was not a member of MWT, but that person, for whatever reason, went to Visit Wales for background information and without recourse to Wales Outdoors, took the short statement from Visit Wales staff as a negative.

It's apparent that something very odd has been going on and MWT have got themselves into a fine pickle, listing some businesses that have no visible guiding qualifications whilst refusing to list others that are fully qualified outdoor professionals of thirty years standing. Not only that though, the giving of contradictory information to genuine requests to get to the bottom of things is not a great look, is it.

So no, I won't be joining MWT, at least not until MWT deign to answer the serious questions I raise as why would I join an organisation that is not independent, that has misled me, that applies due diligence randomly and that quite honestly does not understand experience delivery. I mean 'high risk activities' indeed. I walk on public footpaths! I am a mountain leader! You direct people to walk the same without a professional guide! Who poses the highest risk now?

I do hope your members will understand your actions, as I certainly do not.