Tourist board calls for £10m rescue

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The Wales Tourist Board (WTB) has published details of an in-depth study into the effects of the foot-and-mouth crisis on tourism in Wales.

The organisation has repeated its calls for the Welsh Assembly to provide an urgent £10m recovery fund to help stimulate the industry.

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The report underlines the "dramatic impact" on pockets of the Welsh economy which are reliant on tourism as a primary source of income.

WTB chief executive Jonathan Jones said foot-and-mouth was the "worst ever" crisis to hit the industry.

Details from the study show that 75% of businesses who responded indicated a loss of 60% in sales revenue.

Advance bookings for the crucial months ahead have also been badly hit, with an average loss of 63% in sales.

More than three quarters of businesses taking part said they had lost more than £10,000 since the crisis had begun - with a further 10% losing up to £20,000.

Up to 40% of businesses added they had postponed investment and development plans.

We have to ensure the industry reinvents itself into a leaner, keener machine more able to cope with any future crises

Jonathan Jones, chief executive Wales Tourist Board

The WTB study showed that rural bed and breakfasts and guesthouse businesses were among the hardest hit by the scale of foot-and-mouth restrictions.

The £10m support package being called for would help to pay for advertising to bring back "stayaway" visitors to key tourism areas in north, mid south and west Wales.

The money is also required, says the WTB, to help some of the worst hit businesses cope with the long-term effects of the crisis.

Jonathan Jones said: "On the positive side, the results also confirm that the measures put forward by WTB to the National Assembly for Wales for their consideration are the right ones for the industry.

Knock-on impact

"We have to help the industry get aggressively back into the marketplace and we also have to ensure that the industry reinvents itself into a leaner, keener machine more able to cope with any future crises."

Many businesses reported they had been forced to dip into their reserves and cut expenditure, such as orders and promotion, to keep going.

The WTB warned the impact would have a further knock-on impact on the local economies.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said that subsidised marketing and advertising for next season would be very helpful to putting their businesses back on the road to recovery.

The WTB has called for £5m from the assembly for an advertising replacement fund, in order to put money already lost in advertising this year, back into the hands of businesses.

The proposals also included £5m for the development of the industry, including 50% reduced WTB grading fees for all businesses for 2001/2.