Visit Wales Nepotism Or Incompetence? It's Time For Change!

I am once again on the verge of taking the Welsh Government tourism syndicate to court for broken promises and clear mismanagement, which can by now be only construed as nepotism, as they continue, despite over twenty years of promises, to oversee an unlevel playing field for tourism operators, allowing some providers onto their precious platform whilst disallowing many others.

I have put in two freedom of information requests, one for expenditure on tourism by the Welsh Government for the past twenty years and one for all communications, both internal and from the Welsh Government, that mention either myself, Andrew Lamb, or my business, Wales Outdoors.

I have written to Vaughan Gething (he never responds), Welsh Minister for Economy, and Dawn Bowden (she has blocked me on X), Deputy Minister for Tourism, but expect, as is usual, no response. My MP, Kevin Brennan, has written to Dawn Bowden and I respect her to have to respond to him, in due course, whatever that might mean…

Wales Outdoors is an award winning, five star feedback gaining, professionally qualified and insured guided walk provider that offers quality days out for those who prefer to have a guide or to walk with others. We deliver walks on public footpaths along the coast, in the valleys and over the mountains of Wales. Wales outdoors is listed by the UK Government’s tourism portal Visit Britain.

Visit Wales is the Welsh Government tourism portal that discriminates against guiding in Wales. In 2020 they removed most guided walk providers from their platform as most refuse to submit to another level of cost and bureaucracy. In late 2021 Wales Outdoors took Visit Wales to court for allowing back onto their platform many providers whilst continuing to disallow Wales Outdoors the same opportunity. Due to shenanigans by the Welsh Gov legal team, asking for the case to be struck out and giving me just two days’ notice of this, this case was not heard although the judge in the case said that the proceedings were highly irregular. However a meeting followed with Heledd Owen, Deputy Director of Marketing at Visit Wales, and at this meeting, she made firm promises of a change in behaviour at Visit Wales (where have I heard that before) and that the site would be closely monitored with only accredited businesses being allowed onto the platform. Of course, this is not ideal and not what Wales Outdoors wants but it is Visit Wales staffs position to not engage with the guided walk providers and the easier route for them is to say they will remove all.

Today (early August 2023) I have noted many businesses that are not accredited back on Visit Wales, by various means, and this places Wales Outdoors once again at a market disadvantage. Visit Wales has broken its promises and are (following 25+ years of the same) featuring some businesses whilst banning similar others. Worse still, at peak holiday season, the key managers who are able to deal with my complaining of this matter are all away on holiday and will not be able to respond until their return.

Evidence that is in my possession are years of communications with promises being made to me and my business and indeed to the tourism industry in Wales. I also have clear evidence that these are hollow promises and are being wilfully broken by staff at Visit Wales.

Visit Wales say that guides must not be more than 30 minutes from the guides vehicle. I can descend from the summit of Pen y Fan in less than thirty minutes, my waterfalls walk is never more than 30 minutes from a road. I have asked for clarification on the ‘thirty minutes from the vehicle’ rule, asking when and by whom was this imposed. But I have also pointed out that I set up a partner business that only delivers low level walks that have good and quick access to public highways and that this business has also been disallowed from ticking the ‘guided walking’ box. This in the face of other similar businesses being allowed onto the Visit Wales platform and having been featured for years. As Visit Wales insists on this arbitrary policy then I have demanded the removal of all unaccredited attractions and experiences that have the client more than thirty minutes from their vehicle, such as fishing, golf, wildlife watching, airsports etc.

The future of guiding in Wales is being eroded on many fronts by disastrous spending decisions and policy making at the Welsh Government and this needs to stop. Wales Outdoors delivers walks that any adult would be deemed fit to chose to undertake on their own or with their family. But Visit Wales will not list Wales Outdoors. However, Wales Outdoors can be listed for target shooting, archery, yoga, fishing, motorsports, golf, ‘other activities’, wildlife watching, airsports (flying, ballooning paragliding), self led walking and walking experiences (such as walking with a sheep). This makes a nonsense of Visit Wales safety concerns. I have pointed out that statistically fishing is the most dangerous sport in the UK and that offering a client a gun poses more risk than a wander along a footpath and that sending someone out with a map is less safe than being accompanied by a qualified mountain guide.

A positive future for tourism in Wales would be an end to Visit Wales and its gross mismanagement and wasting of public money. I would like the cash they spend filtered out to the member led tourism associations for tourism providers to decide what and when marketing is needed. This would save multiple millions of your taxes each and every year.

Failing this I would like to see an end to the wasteful accreditation schemes so beloved of governments, for accommodation, attraction and experience providers, and that a simple review star system is introduced, similar to all resellers such as Get your Guide, Airbnb or TripAdvisor, and that this is prominent on a suppliers listing on the Visit Wales platform. Let the clients do the accreditation, for free, and stop paying the inspectors, software developers, management and policy makers for their outdated and clearly broken protocols.

The minimum outcome desired by Wales Outdoors has to be either the removal of all obstacles and rules regarding the disbarment for unaccredited but professionally qualified guided walks providers from the Visit Wales platform OR the permanent removal of all businesses that offer an in person service where that service could possibly lead to the guide or tutor along with client being more than 30 minutes from the guides vehicle. Nonsense, I know, but all I want and all I have ever wanted for Wales Outdoors is a level playing field. 

This blog post has been sent, along with the following introduction, to:

This is a blog post I will be publishing in a few days. I expect immediate action on this long standing matter of what I see as the ongoing for 25 years wilful malfeasance of the Welsh Government and in particular those at Visit Wales. I expect a wholesome apology, consideration of reparations and at best the inclusion of unaccredited but professionally qualified guided walk providers on the Visit Wales platform and at the least the permanent removal of all similar businesses and experience providers that offer anything that could be thirty minutes from the guides/tutors vehicle. 

Your consideration of these matters is greatly appreciated and anything you can do to help expedite an end to the nonsense and time wasting generated by Visit Wales would be greatly appreciated. 

Mark Drakeford AM, Kevin Brennan MP, Rhys ab Owen AM, Vaughan Gething AM, Dawn Bowden AM, Kate Nicholls UK Hospitality, Heledd Owen Visit Wales, Jon Munro Visit Wales, Glyn Roberts Visit Wales, Paul Donovan WATO