Newsletter
WTA Newsletter Highlights - February 2010
Tourism – An Industry here to stay
The Deputy First Minister, Ieuan Wyn Jones commented recently that “as the announcements from both Bosch and Welsh Country Foods demonstrate, we live in challenging times with the global recession changing the rules of the game. To push Wales towards recovery we need a new approach to how government helps businesses and attracts investment.
Our investment needs to be smarter. This is not just about adjusting budgets. It is about creating long term, economic development; creating jobs and industries that are here to stay”.
In fact, the WTA has being making exactly this point for sometime – the tourism industry is an industry that it is here to stay. The average hotel will not be relocating to Hungary or moving to Cheshire. Investing in tourism is investing in a long term industry.
In Mid Wales, 180 jobs are to be lost at a mail order call centre in Newtown (based in a building where there been a mail order business since 1859); in this case, ordering online has become the norm removing the need for telephone orders.
Technology has completely changed tourism marketing and booking but whatever happens in this context in the future, most tourism jobs will remain in place.
Ieuan Wyn Jones launched a ‘Tell Us’ campaign asking for views on the Welsh economy and the new Economic Renewal Programme. We should not be backward in coming forward and telling the Deputy First Minister (and every other politician) that tourism is THE industry that is here to stay.
Julian Burrell
07710 787617
jburrell@wta.org.uk
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