Coronavirus: Tourism Industry Update

Coronavirus: Tourism Industry Update

The situation is developing quickly. Please follow the news reports and for latest advice regularly visit the Public Health Wales website and the Business Wales website

£640m reaches businesses in £2.4bn Welsh Government COVID-19 response

The Finance Minister Rebecca Evans has set out the steps the Welsh Government has taken to dedicate more than £2.4bn to the coronavirus crisis when the supplementary budget was published yesterday.

This significant financial effort has not only provided more than £750m to fund our NHS and public service response, supporting the supply of PPE, investment in testing and tracing and NHS recruitment, but also helped to deliver the most generous business support package in the UK.

The latest figures show that more than 52,000 grants, totalling £640m have been paid to businesses in Wales, who are also benefitting from rates relief through the £1.4bn package announced in March.

The Finance Minister has also called on the UK Government to ease the ‘rigid financial rules’ that limit the Welsh Government’s ability to direct more resources to its COVID response. Read in full: £640m reaches businesses in £2.4bn Welsh Government COVID-19 response.

COVID-19 non-domestic rates grant scheme

The COVID-19 non-domestic rates (NDR) grant schemes will be closing to new applications at 5pm on 30 June 2020. Read more about the closing of the non-domestic rates grant scheme.

Marketing Update:

Have you updated your product listing?

We have been working hard behind the scenes to improve the delivery of your product listings through our websites. Did you know you can upload hero images, video content and have multiple links to your social media and websites?

Visit the product listing tool to update your listing and look out for our Product Listing Bulletin in the forthcoming weeks with more information and support for improving your entry.

To get the most out of your listing, take a look at our user friendly “Top tips for an epic listing” on our Working With visit Wales page, where you can download our industry guide.

MeetGB Virtual 

The annual Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) event, MeetGB, will this year be run as a virtual educational event on the 17 and 23 June 2020. 

MeetGB Virtual, in partnership with Meet In Wales, VisitBritain, MeetEngland, VisitScotland Business Events, Tourism Northern Ireland and London Convention Bureau, will see international buyers from around the world connect online to discover the diverse business event opportunities from across the UK.  Find out more about MeetGB Virtual.

Wales just one ballot away from hosting global culinary event in 2024

Wales is just one more ballot away from bringing the culinary world to the nation in 2024 by hosting the Worldchefs Congress and Expo.

Following a landslide victory in the first round vote and increasing the winning margin in the second round, Wales now needs to win the third and final ballot against Singapore in either July or August to host the Worldchefs Congress and Expo 2024 at the International Convention Centre Wales (ICC Wales), Newport. This major culinary event attracts around 1,000 chefs and between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors from around the globe.

A Team Wales approach has been adopted for the bid, with the Culinary Association of Wales (CAW) supported by ICC Wales, the Celtic Manor Resort and Welsh Government.

Read in full: Wales just one ballot away from hosting global culinary event in 2024.

Stay up to date with tourism industry news

We are committed to providing the support and assurance the business community needs during these unprecedented difficult times and have issued several Coronavirus (COVID-19) related bulletins which can be found on the Tourism Industry Coronavirus (COVID-19) Bulletins page. The most recent bulletins are below:

• 15 May: Unlocking our society and economy: Wales’ roadmap published
• 15 May: Coronavirus: Tourism Industry Update
• 13 May: Coronavirus regulations, Job Retention Scheme, Economic Resilience Fund, Business Wales Podcast:Tourism
• 06 May: Coronavirus: Tourism Industry Update
• 01 May: Coronavirus: Tourism Industry Update

Make sure you stay up to date with tourism industry news by following us on Twitter @VisitWalesBiz and also encourage others who may benefit, to stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter.

Business Wales is providing businesses with tailored support and advice about dealing with coronavirus, from financial and supply chain planning to advice on staffing issues. We would advise Tourism businesses and stakeholders in Wales wanting specific guidance to visit the Business Wales website or call Business Wales helpline on 03000 6 03000, and to regularly visit the Public Health Wales website for up-to-date public health information for you, your staff and your visitors