TOURISM in Conwy is worth £1.1bn a year after its recovery from the Covid pandemic, it has been revealed.
A Conwy Council cabinet member revealed the figure as the county’s executive voted in favour of backing a tourism vision that was first passed in 2019 but needed to be revised after the pandemic.
The plan sets out a vision for tourism for the next six years.
The report – the revised Destination Conwy Management Plan – shows the county’s tourist industry made just £372m in 2020 and £729m in 2021 when lockdowns were still in place.
Conwy’s tourist industry made £904m in 2018 and £996m in 2019.
The cabinet this week voted in favour of backing the report, and Conwy’s cabinet member for a sustainable economy Cllr Nigel Smith claimed things were back on track.
“The revised plan also aims for Conwy’s tourism industry to be one that puts Conwy on a national and international stage, and [is] successful, dynamic, and working together for the local community and businesses in order to deliver sustainable outcomes for the good of all,” he said.
“Tourism priorities we have received from the 2022 Steam figures are showing a total economic impact of tourism in our county of £1.1 billion.
“This has surpassed the 2019 levels when the total economic impact was £996m.
“We are nearly at the 2019 numbers in terms of visitor numbers, both staying and day visitors, and we need to make sure we continue to support the industry so it can continue to recover from the recent economic crisis.”
Council leader Cllr Charlie McCoubrey seconded Cllr Smith’s proposal to back the report.
He said: “I think it is a really excellent piece of work (the report).
“If you see the number of businesses that we’ve engaged with, it’s exactly what we should do, bring a lot of businesses together and help them to make a real difference to our economy and the well-being of everybody within our county.”
Key themes of the revised Destination Conwy Management Plan include sustainability and emphasis on balancing residents’ needs with those of visitors.
The vision outlined 11 objectives, including increasing the value of tourism across the whole year, ensuring the quality of the visitor and resident experience, and the engagement of visitors with the county’s heritage.
The plan also strives to address skills and workforce issues, increase the use of greener travel and transport infrastructure, and ensure the destination meets resident and visitor expectations in terms of cleanliness, facilities, and amenities.
Figures in the report show Llandudno has over 15,000 beds available whilst, in the east of the county, caravan-type accommodation offers around 50,000 beds per night.
The report also states international visitors increased by nearly 50% to 80,000 a year up until 2016.
