Wales tourism alliance

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The WTA

The Wales Tourism Alliance (WTA) was formed in 1998 when the National Assembly for Wales was established and the responsibility for tourism was devolved from Westminster to Cardiff.

WTA is widely recognised as the voice of the industry in Wales. WTA and its members provide a collective voice to put forward the views of the industry to Welsh Government and beyond.

Tourism in Wales is collectively responsible for over £6.2Billion to Welsh GDP and over 172,000 jobs.

WTA members organisations are widely respected within the tourism industry and leaders in their sectors. This collective expertise represents over 6000 tourism businesses in Wales. Working day to day with businesses means that our members are the organisations best placed to spot 'trends' and 'early warning signs' quickly which could affect this important industry.

Providing this collective voice provides the communication which is needed between the industry and the government departments, its only through working together that we can protect this vital industry for Wales.

The WTA meet face to face with both Assembly Members and Welsh MPs on a regular basis, so that they receive industry input direct and our voice is heard.

tourism in Wales - a snapshot

The final report of “The Economic Case for the Visitor Economy” by Deloitte & Oxford Economics published in June 2010 illustrates the importance of tourism to the economy of Wales compared to other parts of the UK.

The total contribution in 2009 (which includes impacts through the supply chain, of capital investment and Government expenditure) accounts for £6.2bn of GDP, 13.3% of the total economy - compared to 8.6% in England, 10.4% in Scotland and 4.9% in Northern Ireland. The direct contribution is £2.7bn which equates to 5.8% of Wales GDP compared to 3.9% in England, 4.9% in Scotland and 2.1% in NI.

Tourism in Wales also has considerable potential for growth with Deloitte forecasting that the Visitor Economy by 2020 will provide a total contribution of 6.9% of the Wales GDP, supporting 188,000 jobs and accounting for 13.7% of total employment.