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WALES’ tourism industry held up well to the challenges of 2010 according to the UK Tourism Survey Results.
The figures which run from January to September 2010 showed that UK residents made 7.28 million visits involving at least one night’s overnight stay to Wales, which is only one per cent down in comparison with the same period in 2009.
Whilst during the same period UK residents to the UK as a whole fell by four per cent compared with the same period in 2009.
The total number of nights spent in Wales by UK domestic visitors on these trips was 28.89 million, one per cent up on the corresponding period in 2009.
Visitors to Wales spent £1,237 million, compared with £1,207 million for the same period in 2009, an increase of three per cent. In the first nine months of 2010 total expenditure by UK residents on trips to the UK as a whole fell by six percent in comparison with 2009.
In Wales, short holidays have shown the biggest growth – 10 per cent up in terms of trips, eight per cent up in terms of nights and 23 per cent up in terms of expenditure in comparison with 2009.
Heritage Minister, Alun Ffred Jones, said: “The economic climate, coupled with a third disappointing summer made for a very tough year for the tourism industry in Wales. It is very hearting to see the results indicating that performance was not as bad as predicted and that Wales held up well and results were better than the UK average.”
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