The Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – has today (11 November) used a question to the Minister for Economy, Transport and North Wales to urge the Welsh Government to set about providing targeted support to the North Wales tourism and hospitality industries. Many local businesses are facing a collapse in their occupancy rate following the imposing of Coronavirus restrictions in England.  

Commenting, Janet said:  

“As my conversations with local business owners have made plain, accommodation businesses, throughout Aberconwy, are teetering on the brink. In some cases, the occupancy rate has collapsed to zero because 80% of their customer base travel in from England. 

“Bearing in mind that Conwy had already been in local lockdown prior to the firebreak announcement, the reality is that some businesses in Aberconwy will not have been able to trade for 8 weeks by the end of England’s restrictions.  

“With this acute regional economic crisis in mind, I have called on the Welsh Minister for Economy to urgently set about providing financial grants to support tourism businesses that are experiencing a collapse in customer numbers this month. I have been writing to establish such targeted support since the first lockdown, earlier this year. 

“I hope that he shares my concern at the findings of a recent North Wales Tourism survey, which found that 75% of respondents did not manage to file an application to the Welsh Government’s ERF Phase 3 scheme, before its premature closure. This is just not good enough. 

“I have also asked for clarification on how much funding is left over from the promised £20 million ring fenced budget to support tourism and hospitality businesses, as part of the third phase. North Wales businesses need urgent answers, as well as clarity on how they will be supported to bridge this period.” 

ENDS