Welsh Tourism: A Critical Industry Underperforming Its Potential
Tourism in Wales is frequently viewed by political leaders as a seasonal luxury rather than a serious economic driver. This perception persists despite compelling evidence from a recent VisitBritain report that positions tourism as one of Wales' most vital sectors. The industry is currently managed more like a domestic leisure activity than a crucial export sector, limiting its growth and economic impact.
The Economic Significance of Welsh Tourism
In 2024, tourism in Wales generated a total spend of £5.3 billion, contributing £5.9 billion to the nation's GDP and supporting 100,871 jobs. These figures translate to tourism accounting for 6.4% of Welsh economic output and 7.1% of employment, making it a core industry. Wales' economy is more dependent on tourism than the UK average, yet this reliance is not matched by dominance in the market.
While the UK's total tourism expenditure reached £165.9 billion, Wales captured only about 3% of this amount. This paradox lies at the heart of the Welsh tourism economy: the nation depends heavily on a sector that has not been developed to its full potential. Larger tourism markets avoid the pitfalls of being busy only in summer and fragile throughout the rest of the year. They sustain higher-end accommodation, superior visitor experiences, robust supply chains, year-round programming, skilled roles, and profitable reinvestment.
The International Tourism Gap
The quickest way to understand why Wales underperforms in value is to examine inbound international tourism, which behaves most like an export industry. International visitors typically spend more per trip, demand higher quality, and help extend the tourism season beyond peak domestic school holidays. However, in 2024, international spending in Wales was just £497 million.
This figure pales in comparison to Scotland's £3.8 billion and London's £20.4 billion. Even English regions without global capital status outperformed Wales, with the South West recording £1.6 billion, the East of England £1.9 billion, and the North West £2.4 billion. Wales is not merely lagging slightly behind in international visitors; it operates in a completely different and lower league.
Consequences of Weak International Demand
This shortfall is not solely a marketing issue. International demand stimulates a different kind of economy, including higher-grade accommodation, stronger food and retail sectors, more paid experiences, consistent demand, and greater investment confidence. When international tourism is weak, the opposite occurs: price sensitivity, short stays, heavy seasonality, and businesses forced to generate revenue within a narrow window.
The Welsh spend mix is particularly problematic. Domestic tourism spend in Wales is nine times higher than inbound spend. While visitors from the UK are immensely important, the domestic model has limitations, such as shorter breaks, lower spend per head, and a seasonal pattern that strains infrastructure during peaks while leaving tourism businesses underutilized for extended periods.
Employment and Value Chain Challenges
Employment data reinforces this narrative. Tourism is a significant employer in Wales, but it lacks the scale and value mix expected for an industry of its importance. Although tourism is labour-intensive everywhere, Wales has not done enough to move the sector up the value chain. If tourism is already one of the largest sectors in the foundation economy, why does Wales remain stuck in a model that generates jobs without sufficient value and resilience?
Key questions arise: Are we increasing spend per visitor, extending the season, improving margins, and creating better-paid roles? Or are we accepting a cycle of summer busyness and winter fragility? Comparisons with Scotland are telling. Scotland has roughly double Wales' tourism jobs, yet it achieves higher spend, a greater contribution to its economy, and eight times the income from inbound visitors.
Strategic Recommendations for Improvement
Scotland has built a proposition that converts brand into international demand, leveraging not just scenery but also product, cities, culture, heritage, and year-round visibility. Wales possesses comparable assets but has not packaged them with the same discipline or consistency. To address this, several changes are necessary.
First, Wales must stop treating inbound tourism as an afterthought. Attracting international tourists should become a core objective, not a peripheral campaign. This requires route development, international distribution partnerships, targeted market strategy, and a year-round pipeline of reasons to visit beyond summer postcards.
Second, Wales needs to prioritise value over volume. A strategy focused solely on increasing visitor numbers risks worsening congestion, environmental pressure, and local resistance without improving incomes. The goal should be higher spend per trip, longer stays, stronger conversion into local supply chains, and a sector that is investable beyond a short season.
Third, Wales must learn from best-performing regions. This involves building a coherent national brand backed by sustained visibility and anchored by cities, culture, events, heritage, and high-quality experiences, not just landscape. Wales has the raw assets but lacks consistent execution.
Governance and Future Directions
This leads to a final, unfashionable question: Does Wales have the right national machinery to deliver this transformation? The nation has strategies and campaigns, but outcomes, particularly in inbound international tourism, suggest fragmentation rather than focus. While political parties advocate for resurrecting the Welsh Development Agency, it may also be time to revisit the case for a dedicated Wales Tourism Board with real authority.
Such a body should not be a talking shop but a delivery organization accountable for inbound growth, year-round product development, data-led investment priorities, and international market performance. The VisitBritain data makes one thing clear: tourism is already a critical sector for the Welsh economy. The question now is whether Wales is prepared to run it like a serious growth industry or continue relying on it as a seasonal comfort blanket while other UK nations and regions capture high-value markets.
