National
Assembly Inquiry into Wales’ International
Connectivity
Reflections
on the issues from Capital Region Tourism
Introduction
Capital Region Tourism
(CRT) is one of 4 Regional Tourism Partnerships (RTPs) in Wales,
active since 2002, and in receipt of resources and responsibilities
devolved from Visit Wales to deliver regional tourism development
and marketing strategies. All 11 local authorities in South East
Wales (including Brecon Beacons NPA) sit on CRT’s board of
management together with 11 industry representatives elected by
their peers.
The region contains
Cardiff Airport and both Newport and Cardiff ports which have
actively sought and received calls through the Cruise Wales
initiative.
CRT has only become aware of
the Inquiry belatedly and so begs the Committee’s indulgence
in submitting a short series of reflections on the issues from a
tourism perspective. CRT supports the more considered evidence
submitted by the South East Wales Economic Forum (of which it is an
active member) as well as the relevant points raised by Prof Stuart
Cole on rail connectivity and Martin Evans on the performance of
Cardiff Airport.
Tourism Issues
- Happily, Wales is not
dependent on air or sea connections for the major part of its
tourism market which is derived from England and Wales itself. 85%
of all overnight tourists in South East Wales arrive by private
car. SE Wales also provides a gateway to West and Mid Wales for
visitors from England and overseas visitors arriving through SE
England airports.
- Overseas visitors only
account for 5% of tourism arrivals but account for 10% of tourism
expenditure so represent high value if we can attract them. 50% of
all overseas visitor expenditure is in SE Wales – not
surprising as a function of the wider business economy or
‘first time’ leisure visits.
- Overseas tourism is
relatively much more important for England and Scotland but is this
cause or effect at work?: Wales has few overseas visitors therefore
overseas visitors are less important therefore we invest less in
marketing and product development therefore we get less overseas
visitors…..
- Arguably if the UK market
is healthy and increasing we can take a fairly relaxed view of
overseas visitors as they are much more expensive and difficult to
attract. At times when the overall UK market to Wales is in decline
however we should be far more interested in diversifying our
markets. We also need to add in the more intangible value of the
world’s view of Wales generated through tourism connections
e.g. Ryder Cup. CRT supports the Southern Wales overseas marketing
campaign for the region, but overall resources available to public
and private sectors for overseas marketing is a key
issue.
- There are issues around
our preparedness to deal with overseas visitors in terms of
cultural awareness, service levels and language skills although
training is one of CRT’s key areas of activity and we have
sought to address some of these issues (e.g. foreign language guide
training in Cardiff).
- Many of the opportunities
derived from direct international connectivity are tactical as well
as strategic. Ireland is Wales’ largest overseas market
because of the frequent (and competitive) ferry routes. The most
fanatical golfers in Europe are to be found in Sweden but we are
not a destination of choice because there are no direct
flights… CRT has worked with partners to develop markets at
the other end of Cardiff flights but airlines do not have a
long-term view of route development and are happy to pull the plug
after a few months.
- We have to decide whether
we want Cardiff to be a truly international airport or a good
regional one – either way it is likely to be a mix of leisure
and business demand, inbound and outbound, that needs to be
generated. If the latter, then links to governmental, EU capitals
and financial centres are a priority as well as onward
international connections through Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt as
a minimum. From a tourism perspective incoming passengers are of
paramount importance. To date, focus has been primarily on cheap
outbound flights. Investment from both the owners and Government
would enable the airport to offer a competitive package to attract
airlines.
- The evidence from Bristol
points out Cardiff Airport’s dilemma, but if we want a
thriving airport we have to think seriously about its landside
accessibility and connectivity, both real and perceived, and the
USPs for airlines to use it (speed of turnaround, service levels,
customer satisfaction etc.) Perhaps the recently announced
Enterprise Zone is an opportunity to address these
issues.
- Wales has dipped its toe
hesitantly into the Cruise market, with limited resources. CRT has
supported Cardiff’s efforts to understand and take advantage
of the market on behalf of the region. We understand that
individual ports need an average of 20 calls per year to make the
business viable and although there are a number of market forces at
work to increase business in the Celtic Sea, Wales’ overall
commitment remains equivocal. There are understandable concerns
about capacity and sustainability when each call currently is a
separate ‘event’ which has to be geared up for and
while the profits and rewards are largely exported from Wales. It
is important that we develop Wales-based servicing of the Cruise
sector to optimise retained income, expertise and local
benefits.