Visit Wales, an agency that promotes Welsh tourism, has announced that new jobs are to be created by its Tourism Investment Support Scheme (TISS).
The agency has allocated £3.8million for the development of tourism businesses in Wales. The fund is financing existing and new tourism businesses to upgrade the quality of services where there are gaps in demand.
The Welsh business minister, Edwina Hart, said, ‘The creation of 300 new jobs in one of our key growth sectors is excellent news for Wales and is especially welcome during these difficult economic times for the UK. It also shows that despite the disappointing seasonal weather, the future looks bright for tourism in Wales.
Tourism is worth around £4bn a year to the Welsh economy and there is enormous potential to expand so we cannot afford to sit on our laurels. To be able to compete against stiff competition elsewhere in the UK and beyond, it is vital that we must keep bringing new quality products to the market and improve the visitor experience.
It has been good to see that take-up of our TISS funding has been very healthy over the last year as tourism businesses across Wales have striven to improve the quality of their product offering and go from strength to strength.’
TISS investment has previously helped Browns Hotel, in Laugharne, Wales, to develop from a building that was abandoned and derelict, into a boutique hotel with 15 guest rooms.
Browns Hotel general manager, Charlie Dyer, said, ‘The transformation in recent months has been astonishing. With this vital support from the Welsh Government we were able to revamp what had become a derelict building and I am delighted that our reopening comes in time for the national celebration of Dylan Thomas’ birth centenary.’
