Tourism
Sector Overview Wales
Tourism in Wales is an important strand of the economy, producing revenues of around £3bn a year. Wales attracts more than 11 million visitors per annum, 10 million of whom come from within the UK itself.
In 2004-5, £6.7m of Welsh Assembly Government funding was channelled into 111 projects under its investment support scheme, generating £40m in total investment (£21.2m of which was from the private sector) - creating or safeguarding 435 full-time-equivalent jobs.
The major thrust of advertising and promotional activity during this period was via the Big Country campaign, which, from a total budget of some £6m, generated additional income of more than £100m.
Fast Facts
- Tourists spend over £8 million a day on trips in Wales - this amounts to around £3 billion a year.
- In direct terms, tourism contributes 3.7% of whole-economy value added in Wales.
- Approximately 100,000 people in Wales are employed in tourism. This represents approximately 9% of the workforce.
- The UK accounts for 93% of tourism trips to Wales.
- 70% of UK tourists to Wales come for a holiday, 20% to visit friends or relatives and 7% for a business trip.
- Over one million trips are taken to Wales annually by overseas tourists. The most popular origins of overseas visitors are Republic of Ireland, USA, and Germany.
- 50% of trips by UK tourists to Wales go to the countryside or small towns/villages.
- The most popular activities undertaken by tourists in Wales are: walking, swimming, visiting historic attractions such as castles and visiting museums and galleries.
- The most popular attraction in Wales is the Museum of Welsh Life which attracts over 600,000 visitors annually.
- In serviced accommodation in Wales, there are over 80,000 bed spaces available.
Welsh Assembly Government Reports
Each of the four economic regions of Wales has a distinctive pattern of tourism. These research factsheets provide information on all overnight tourism trips, serviced occupancy and visitor numbers to attractions to the four regions in 2005. The information has been sourced from the United Kingdom Tourism Survey, the International Passenger Survey, the Wales Serviced Accommodation Occupancy Survey and the Survey of Visits to Tourist Attractions in Wales.
Tourism Business Survey
Five surveys are undertaken through the year after important holiday periods to gauge how operators believe their business is performing. 200 businesses are interviewed, split between regions and tourism business types.
Tourism Trends in Wales
The trend report draws upon Visit Wales' own research and also derives information from other relevant sources. Its aim is to provide an early picture of tourism performance and more general economic trends.
- Visit Wales visitor survey 2006
23/02/07
- In the summer of 2006, Visit Wales commissioned TNS Travel & Tourism to undertake a survey of visitors to Wales, to establish levels of satisfaction with all aspects of the visit. This was a follow-on from the UK and overseas visitor surveys conducted previously in 2001 and 2003, respectively.
- Domestic (UK) caravan tourism to Wales
08/11/06
- Wales currently hosts 1600 caravan sites. 2.5 million domestic tourists stay at these sites each year and spend on average £276m.
- Tourism in Wales by location
08/11/06
- Where do people stay when they come to Wales - the coast, cities or countryside? And what difference does location make?
- Domestic (UK) trips to Wales by region of origin
08/11/06
- This report looks at United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS) figures to ascertain which regional UK markets are most important to Wales.
- Active holidays in Wales
08/11/06
- The Welsh activity market1 is becoming an increasingly important growth sector. This document outlines information relating to activity holidays in Wales.
- Recreational holidays in Wales
07/11/06
- UK residents take on average 0.5 million trips in Wales per year to undertake a specific recreation as the purpose for the trip. These holidaymakers account for 1.5m bed nights and over £73m.
- Visit to tourism attractions in Wales
07/11/06
- Wales continues to demonstrate a strong dependence on small attractions recording less than 50,000 visits... this report is a rounded picture for tourism attractions in 2005.
- Volume and value to tourism in Wales
07/11/06
- This is a quick look at the headline statistics of volume and value for UK and overseas tourists to Wales.
- Domestic (UK) tourism in Wales
07/11/06
- Domestic (UK) visitors represent the most important component of tourism demand for Wales. This fact sheet provides summary information about their profile and behavioural characteristics.