Category Archives: Trade Updates

The three-pronged approach will focus on: support – addressing affordability and availability of housing,regulatory framework and system – covering planning law and the introduction of a statutory registration scheme for holiday accommodation; anda fairer contribution – using national and local taxation systems to ensure second home owners make a fair and effective contribution to the communities in which they buy. There will also be a pilot area in Wales, to be decided over the summer, where these new measures will be trialled and evaluated before being considered for wider rollout. Other supporting actions, including the work on a registration scheme for all holiday accommodation and a consultation on changes to […]

Qualifications Wales want to hear your views about the qualifications, and the qualifications system in the travel, tourism, hospitality and catering sector.Are qualifications meeting the needs of learners, learning providers and employers? Are they up to date and relevant?Do they prepare learners well for employment?Is the assessment appropriate and fair?What improvements could be made? And;What skills are needed for the future? https://www.qualificationswales.org/english/qualifications/vocational-qualifications/sector-reviews/travel-tourism-hospitality-and-catering-sector-review/travel-tourism-hospitality-and-catering-sector-review-online-questionnaires/

NWTs virtual annual tourism business seminar was held on Monday 28 June with presentations from: Jim Jones, CEO of North Wales Tourism – 2020 Review Adrian Barsby, Barsby Associates – Combating UndertourismAdrian Greason-Walker, Wales Tourism Alliance – Welsh Government’s Tourism Tax ConsultationChristian Fontana, Barclaycard – focussing on the partnership between Barclaycard and NWT and how they can support tourism businesses. At the meeting three new members were elected as Directors to the Board of North Wales Tourism: Adrian Barsby, Barsby Associates LtdMarc Viercant, Cae Mor Hotel, LlandudnoTansy Rogerson, Armadillo Events The following members were also re-elected to the board: Tanya Keith, The Management Centre, BangorLucy Miller, Llanfair Hall, AngleseyRuth Higgin, […]

Following our AGM this morning three new members were elected as Directors to the Board of North Wales Tourism: Adrian Barsby, Barsby Associates LtdMarc Viercant, Cae Mor Hotel, LlandudnoTansy Rogerson, Armadillo Events The following members were also re-elected to the board: Tanya Keith, The Management Centre, BangorLucy Miller, Llanfair Hall, AngleseyRuth Higgin, Ty Mawr Tearooms B&B, Llanddeiniolen Congratulations to all and we look forward to working with you. Full details of all our board members can be viewed on our trade website – https://northwalestourism.com/about-us/nwt-directors/

This publication summarises intelligence gathered by the Bank’s Agents between mid-April and early June. The Agents’ scores published alongside this document are based on information gathered between mid-April and late May, and they generally represent activity over the past three months compared with a year ago. During the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, economic activity fell at an unprecedented pace, reflected in some Agents’ scores moving to the low extremes of their range, where scores can be consistent with a wide range of quantitative outcomes. More recently, economic activity has recovered as social distancing restrictions have been lifted. Because most of the Agents’ scores compare the past three […]

The Welsh Government has launched the Town Centre Entrepreneurship Fund as a pilot programme to provide financial assistance for entrepreneurs and businesses who are looking to start and grow a business in one of four town centres across North Wales – Bangor, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl and Wrexham.  This fund will be available as a discretionary grant of between £2,500 – £10,000 per business to support with the revenue costs associated with starting up in or relocating to a town centre.  In order to access the fund, you must submit an Expression of Interest form (available to download below) and register with Business Wales. You will then be assigned a dedicated Business Adviser […]

Councils across Wales are launching Consultations into increasing Council Tax rates for second homes/holiday lets, for example: Pembrokeshire: https://bit.ly/2SH7AoF Anglesey: https://bit.ly/2TGPAuT

The Welsh Government introduced new smoking legislation in Wales on 1 March 2021.  For the tourism industry, the new laws mean that the current exemption to the smoking ban which enables smoking to take place in self-contained holiday and temporary accommodation as well as in designated smoking bedrooms in hotels, guesthouses etc. will end on 1 March 2022. The measures, designed to denormalise smoking and protect more people from the dangers of second-hand smoke, mean that from 1 March 2022, it will be against the law to smoke in these areas and fines could be issued.  All types of self-contained accommodation will be covered by the new smoke-free requirements such […]

The Tourism Sector Skills Toolkit consists of a set of resources with guidance notes on how they can be used by educational establishments, training providers, employers, government departments, and individuals to enable them to review the green, social and digital requirements within the hospitality and tourism sector and to use the toolkit to support them in developing and/or updating their resources. The Tourism Sector Skills Toolkit can be used to: Map against existing training and qualifications, job profiles, training needs analysis, job descriptions, responsibilities, tasks, etc. for the stakeholder to identify skills, knowledge, and behaviors already present and identify gaps.Inform and support the development of curriculum and training programmes within […]