WTA attendance at the Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee on Thursday, 21 September

The Economy, Infrastructure and Skills Committee inquiry into ‘Selling Wales to the World’ asked the WTA to attend committee last Thursday (21st September 2017) following our detailed submission to them on the 1st of this month. Adrian Barsby, Chair and adrian Greason-Walker (Policy Advocate) took questions at the committee in relation to the response. Our full submission can be found here on the Assembly website:http://senedd.assembly.wales/documents/s65554/02%20Wales%20Tourism%20Alliance.pdf
 
The Committee was well attended by AMs and included Russell George, Welsh Conservatives - Committee Chair; Hannah Blythyn, Labour;  Hefin David; Labour; Vikki Howells, Labour; Mark Isherwood, Welsh Conservatives; Jeremy Miles, Labour; Adam Price, Plaid Cymru The Party of Wales; David J. Rowlands, UKIP Cymru. Also alongside us was Prof. Annette Pritchard and Prof. Nigel Morgan.
 
The WTA took questions on how the Welsh and UK Governments sell Wales to the World at present in terms of trade, tourism and skills/training. Also discussed at length was the ‘Wales.Com’ web site, the strength of Wales’s international tourism “brand”. Visit Wales’ international marketing activities and the impact of Brexit were discussed at length. Members also quoted several times from the report WTA submitted when later cross examining Deb Barber, Chief Executive Officer, Cardiff Airport and Cassie Houghton, Head of Marketing and Public Relations, Cardiff Airport. There was some disagreement with WTA opinion on the value of major events to Wales outside Cardiff! The impact of Brexit was discussed and WTA was asked what Wales can learn from similarly sized countries?  Scotland and several eastern European destinations were used as alternate examples of good practise coupled to bigger budgets. The full webcast can be found here: http://www.senedd.tv/Meeting/Archive/9f2e7c6c-5902-4edb-95b9-610f780487a3?autostart=True