Ambition and goals

Our ambition is to grow tourism for the good of Wales. This means economic growth that delivers benefits for people and places, including environmental sustainability, social and cultural enrichment and health benefits.

This plan takes as its basis Wales' distinctive Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, and ‘mainstreams’ its vision through everything we do. This reflects the clear view of industry that we need to strike the right balance between economic growth and our wider wellbeing as a country.

The primary goal will be to harness the potential for tourism to improve the wider economic

wellbeing of Wales. Tourism is a rare sector that takes jobs to all places. We want our sector to grow purposefully throughout the year, helping to stimulate prosperity in urban and rural areas. Our main aim is a sustained level of growth with a focus on off-peak periods – and to contribute more, through tourism, to Wales' general GVA. We will monitor the growth of the sector and its contribution to Wales' wider economic performance. We also believe that economic prosperity is the key to delivering other wellbeing goals.

In-line with industry feedback however, we will implement an ‘economy plus’ approach. Our goals

now include growing tourism in a way that also delivers benefits for people and places including

environmental sustainability, social and cultural enrichment, and health benefits (see below). Doing this will only serve to underpin the integrity and economic success of our sector in the long-term. We know this is not simple. It will mean working and thinking differently, making some difficult choices, and doing more to understand the impact of our decisions.

Ultimately, all of this work is about making a difference to people’s lives, be they visitors, local stakeholders or business owners. This plan will ensure that economic growth and wider wellbeing benefits ultimately enhance the quality of life of everyone we engage with, whether they are here for a day, for a week, or for a lifetime. This brings people to the very centre of our proposals.