The headline figures are that visitor numbers are up 3% for the year to 37.34m, but with spend is static at £22.16bn. Beneath this headline there are some interesting figures. December visitor numbers are up 11% which, combined with visitor numbers being up 16% in November, suggest that the expected Brexit boost is well underway. Outbound tourism continues to hold up with numbers up 7% and spend up 11% in 2016 (interestingly, numbers were up 8% and spend up 15% in the final quarter suggesting that the drop in the value of the pound was having little impact on the desire of UK residents to take a holiday overseas). Inbound Holiday and VFR travel have been growing significantly over the last quarter as people have taken advantage of the drop in the value of the Pound while business travel has struggled due to the uncertainty of Brexit. While the Short-haul European markets have been the quickest to respond to the drop in the pound, the long-haul markets are now starting to grow strongly with the US leading the way with a 15% increase over the last quarter of 2016.
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Mark Drakeford AM - Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
'On 17 December 2016, as part of the final Budget, the Welsh Government announced an extra £10m to support high street retailers, including pubs and restaurants. I am today setting out further detail about how this targeted high street rates relief scheme for 2017-18 will operate. This £10m scheme, which is in addition to the £10m transitional rates relief scheme for businesses whose eligibility for small business rates relief has been affected by the 2017 revaluation, has been developed in partnership with local authorities to ensure support is targeted at those high street retailers most in need of support. The high street rates relief scheme will provide support of up to £1,500 on the non-domestic rates bill for eligible businesses with a rateable value of up to £50,000 in 2017-18. Ratepayers who will benefit from the relief include those with occupied high street retail premises, such as shops, restaurants, cafes, pubs and wine bars. To maximise the amount of support which can be provided and to ensure it is targeted at those areas and businesses affected by the revaluation, there will be two tiers of relief. The first tier will apply to eligible high street retailers with a rateable value of between £6,001 and £12,000 who are in receipt of either small business rates relief (SBRR) or transitional rates relief. These ratepayers will receive a reduction in their rates bill of £500, except where this would reduce their bill below nil – in these cases ratepayers will receive a discount equal to the amount of their outstanding liability. The second tier of relief will apply to eligible high street retailers with a rateable value of between £12,001 and £50,000 who have an increase in their non‑domestic rates liability on 1 April 2017. These ratepayers will receive a reduction in their rates bill of up to £1,500. This higher level of support reflects the fact these businesses are not entitled to other sources of government-funded support, such as SBRR, and may be facing substantial increases in their rates liability as a result of the 2017 revaluation, which has been carried out by the independent Valuation Office Agency. Targeting support in this way means the support will be available to eligible businesses which see increases in their liability as a result of revaluation as well to those businesses on high streets where rates are falling but businesses are struggling as a result of economic conditions and competition from online and out-of-town providers. The high street rates relief scheme is unique to Wales and will provide support to almost 15,000 small and medium businesses across the country in 2017-18. My officials have been working closely with local authorities to design the scheme and ensure councils are able to act swiftly to support businesses in their areas. Accompanying guidance will be provided to support the effective administration of the relief and eligible ratepayers will be notified about their entitlement. This new targeted scheme, together with our decision to extend the £100m small business rates relief scheme into 2017-18 and provide a £10m transitional rates relief scheme from April 2017, will provide vital support to ratepayers across Wales. Technical note The eligibility criteria for qualifying businesses are listed below:
The relief will exclude:
Your business is food, don’t throw it away
WRAP Cymru with the support of WTA would like to work with a range of hospitality businesses to trial a brand new programme to help food businesses save money. Your business is food, don’t throw it away (YBIF) aims to support food businesses with simple steps and handy resources to reduce the amount of food thrown away and educate staff and customers. WRAP Cymru want to work with interested businesses to trial the YBIF resources and, where relevant, opportunities to redistribute any surplus food. To capture the extent of savings it is anticipated the project would run from April to June 2017. Participating business would benefit from cost savings and the support required to work through the resources, develop a plan and measure its effectiveness. They would also feature in case studies which would be used to promote YBIF to other hospitality and tourism businesses. If you are interested in benefitting from this free support please contact Helen.Hawley@wrap.org.uk by the 10th March. Welsh Government publish a White Paper on Reforming Local Government: Resilient and Renewed16/2/2017 This White Paper seeks a new relationship between national and local government. One as it states 'where there is a mutual understanding and recognition of respective roles and interests, and where all partners are given the space to maximise the positive impact they have through working with citizens on mutually agreed agendas'. IIt reviews regional working and proposes a new framework for local government to work within. You have until the 11th of April 2017 to respond. Papers can be found here: https://consultations.gov.wales/consultations/reforming-local-government-resilient-and-renewed New figures out today show a record-breaking November for inbound tourism visits and spend to the UK. There were 3.1 million inbound visits to the UK in November 2016, up 17% on the same month in 2015. Overseas visitors spent £1.7 billion, up 14%. Today’s figures from the Office for National Statistics show that from January to November 2016 the UK saw 34.5 million visits, up 3% on the same period in 2015 with visitors spending £20.4 billion, up 1%. Strong growth was seen in November last year from North America (Canada and the US,* the latter Britain’s most valuable tourism source market) with 300,000 visits, up 28% compared to November 2015. It brings total visits from North America for January to November 2016 to 4 million, up 6% on 2015. There were 23.3 million visits from the EU for January to November 2016, up 4% on the same period in 2015. The UK Government's Brexit White paper can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-united-kingdoms-exit-from-and-new-partnership-with-the-european-union-white-paper The contents follow the 12 points that the Prime Minister made regarding the Government’s Brexit Strategy on 17th January 1. Providing certainty and clarity. 2. Taking control of our own laws 3. Strengthening the Union 4. Protecting our strong and historic ties with Ireland and maintaining the Common Travel Area 5. Controlling immigration 6. Securing rights for EU nationals in the UK, and UK nationals in the EU 7. Protecting workers’ rights 8. Ensuring free trade with European markets 9. Securing new trade agreements with other countries. 10. Ensuring the UK remains the best place for science and innovation 11. Cooperating in the fight against crime and terrorism 12. Delivering a smooth, orderly exit from the EU There is one mention of tourism in the document under section 8.17 which deals with ensuring the free trade of services with European markets. However, the document contains no detail of what the Government’s approach is to tourism other than to say “In our new strategic partnership we will be aiming for the freest possible trade in services between the UK and EU Member States” While the document is pretty light on details, one point of interest is the section on Immigration which seems to acknowledge that restricting migration from the EU will be detrimental to some industries. We are considering very carefully the options that are open to us to gain control of the numbers of people coming to the UK from the EU. As part of that, it is important that we understand the impacts on the different sectors of the economy and the labour market. We will, therefore, ensure that businesses and communities have the opportunity to contribute their views. |