The Minister has confirmed the timetable for re-opening outdoor visitor attractions and the partial opening of the tourism industry in Wales for the remainder of the summer season. Providing that the stay local requirement is lifted as anticipated in Wales on the 6th July, outdoor visitors’ attractions will be given the green light to re-open subject to strict social distancing and hand hygiene guidelines.
Also, subject to the forthcoming review on the 9th July, the tourism sector is preparing to re-open self-contained accommodation. Bookings can be made for stays after 11th July, which was previously 13th July, at people’s own risk and they should check first with the accommodation provider before they book. This includes any accommodation that is entirely self-contained, e.g. holiday cottages, holiday caravans including modern touring caravans and motorhomes and some glamping accommodation with their own kitchens and bathrooms which no other guests use. In this category, hotels, hostels and caravan parks which are self-contained are also included.
Gwion Llwyd and his team at Dioni luxury holiday cottages in North Wales have great confidence in the tourism sector, Gwion reported “We’ve had the busiest week (this week) in terms of bookings ever recorded. Revenue is up over 100% on this same week last year. We are also fielding an unprecedented number of questions from both guests and cottage owners. Our adoption of the Visit Britain Good To Go scheme is hopefully giving our guests some reassurance as well as providing useful guidelines for our cottage owners.
In time, I’m sure booking patterns will return to our normal seasonal pace however I still see the general curve as having an upward trajectory. I remain very optimistic about the future of tourism here in North Wales. This pandemic and the accompanying lockdown has taught us all to appreciate the great outdoors and time spent with friends and family and there is no better place than Snowdonia National Park to do this”
We would advise Tourism businesses and stakeholders in Wales wanting specific guidance to visit the Business Wales website or call Business Wales helpline on 03000 6 03000, and to regularly visit the Public Health Wales website for up-to-date public health information.
Over the past few months Baileys and Partners have received numerous enquiries from landowners who wish to pursue leisure and diversification opportunities; glamping, natural capital assessments and vertical farming to name a few. Please do get in touch to see if we can help to develop your business ideas. Physical meetings are limited at present, as an alternative we can happily accommodate telephone and video conferencing, whichever works best for you.
Sending our best wishes from the Baileys and Partners Team.
