A special recovery fund, an extension of furlough, VAT cut and business rates relief are what tourism operators want as well as assurance all will be done to get the sector open for Easter.
The region’s sector saw a devastating drop of £2.17 billion in income over the first 10 months of 2020 as lockdowns and restrictions halted visits and hit turnover.
Normally packed resorts like Llandudno and Abersoch were turned into ghost towns as the country battled the pandemic, hitting businesses and jobs.
The nation remains in lockdown but there is hope that vaccinations and warmer weather can lead to better times this spring and summer with a prediction of a 海角视频 holiday and staycation boom.
Members of North Wales Tourism were asked in a survey what they needed to survive and then hopefully thrive in 2021.
Chief executive Jim Jones said: “A clear consensus was that if the industry is to move forward and gain the real recognition it deserves, then it is more important than ever that the tourism and hospitality sector is credited with its true economic input into the Welsh economy and recognised as such.
“We have asked our North Wales Tourism members what they believe will help them to open up and support them on the road to recovery.”
These were among the measures asked for:
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■ Business Funds: Extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and the Self Employment Income Support Scheme.
■ Business Rates Relief – Business Rates Relief for tourism business extended through the 2021/22 financial year.
■ VAT to stay at 5%, especially for accommodation.
■ Create a tourism and hospitality recovery fund.
■ Mortgage holiday extensions, more pressure on the banks to extend this.
■ Easter opening is critical.
Mr Jones said: “Until the pandemic struck, the visitor economy was continuing to grow strongly and provided jobs for more than 43.000 people. But 2020 has turned our lives upside down and our tourism and many hospitality businesses have been teetering on the edge of failure. Many have sadly already gone under. Many jobs have been lost.
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“We are hopeful that Welsh Government will unveil an action plan to reopen our borders and restart the tourism and hospitality sector as soon as they believe it is safe to do so.”
He added: “Our region has not lost any of its beauty or appeal in the last year and we know that once people are allowed to visit, they will come back and hopefully our businesses can try and get back on track to some form of normality.
“It shouldn’t take long for us to regain our confidence as an outward-looking confident world class region.”
Seamus O’Keeffe, owner of The Chainbridge Hotel, in Llangollen, said: “Moving forward, I believe the reduction in VAT for hospitality businesses should stay in place throughout 2021-22, as the industry starts to rebuild and pay off debts which have been accrued in order to survive the impact of coronavirus restrictions.
"We all need a clear roadmap of how and when things will be eased – it’s essential for business planning and consumer confidence.”
He added that being close to the border with England meant it would be beneficial for Wales and England to follow the same reopening path and Welsh Government needed to support a strong marketing campaign to push the benefits and attractions of visiting Wales safely.
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