MWT has written to Sarah Murphy to congratulate her on her new role and to request a meeting to discuss our sector, recent policy implications, and proposed policy changes. We have emphasised the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to avoid the unintended consequences these policies can have on our rural communities.

Given the introduction of several new policies last year, including the 182-day rule and recycling mandates, it is vital that the Welsh Government consult with the industry when considering new policies such as statutory registration and the tourism tax.

As part of our ongoing efforts to represent our members regarding recent policy changes, we have raised these issues at the Mid Wales Regional Forum. This matter has been brought to the attention of the Welsh Government's new Minister for Social Partnerships, Sarah Murphy MS, where tourism now falls under her remit.

PASC has created a survey to gather the latest feedback from the self catering sector. We urge all members to complete this survey so we can collectively gain valuable insights.

MWT has always been a strong advocate for working together to ensure a stronger voice for our sector and we continue to collaborate.

Organisations that work closely together and are members of the WTA include PASC, MWT, Visit Pembrokeshire, The BHHPA, British Marine, WOTGA, The Caravan & Camping Club, The Caravan and Motorhome Club, The Association of Welsh Agents and others who all work together to support and represent our businesses.

We all thank you for your continued support and we all remain committed to supporting our businesses.

I hope you are having a great start to the season and that you're excited about the months ahead. MWT Cymru has had a lot going on! Here’s a whistlestop tour of some of our recent activities and upcoming initiatives:

In the past month, we have attended the Mid Wales Regional Forum, bringing together industry leaders across Mid Wales. Our Chair (Steve Hughson) then feeds our views and updates back into the Visitor Economy Forum (Welsh Government).

I was also thrilled to be a panelist at the London Blockchain Conference at Excel, where I had the opportunity to speak about our new IMI Wales project, which is almost ready for launch! This platform will bring together communities and tourism businesses into a new loyalty and rewards system, aimed at increasing footfall in our town centers. It provides independent businesses with access to technology traditionally available only to larger companies. This exciting project has already garnered significant international interest, so stay tuned for more updates!

MWT has also been invited to join the new strategic board for the Gwynedd & Eryri Sustainable Visitor Economy plan, which focuses on tourism and community development. I attended the first meeting earlier this week.

Rowland Rees Evans, MWT Chairman, continues to represent you on the Wales Tourism Alliance (WTA) Board. The WTA deals directly with the Welsh Government on our behalf, supported by your membership with MWT. We actively feed into this group to represent your views.

We are thrilled to announce that the 2024 Mid Wales Tourism Awards are back! Winners of these awards will progress to the National Visit Wales Awards next March. Keep an eye out for more details soon.

We've been discussing enhancements to the visitmidwales.co.uk and showmewales.co.uk websites. We're excited to welcome a new digital team member in early July, who will support these enhancements. We look forward to introducing our new team member in the coming weeks.

MWT is continuing to assisting Visit Wales with the rollout of TXGB across Mid, South East, and South West Wales.

We recently met with the Visit Wales Travel Trade Team and Business Events Team to explore how they can help promote Mid Wales better to international and business markets. These markets aren't just looking for large groups and conference venues, but are also made up of small groups and independent travellers looking for unique experiences and something different, which perfectly aligns with what Mid Wales has to offer!

Additionally, MWT is collaborating with Visit Britain and border destinations to enhance our joint efforts and better utilise available public transport routes.

The Visit Mid Wales bedroom browsers should now be with you, and the new visitor guides are rolling out as we speak. If you don't receive these in the next week or so, please let the team know.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. It's only through your support that we can continue to represent our members, our industry, and support tourism in Mid Wales.

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Zoe Hawkins
MWT Chief Executive

Thank you to everyone who attended our TXGB webinar last month.

TXGB is available for accommodation, attractions, tours and events and can help businesses reach new customers through a broad range of distribution channels and unique campaigns, 

If you were unable to make the introductory webinar, but keen to find out more, a recording of the webinar is available here: ​

MWT is at the end of the phone – 01654 702653 – or email  [email protected], if you have any questions.

To find out more please see our page https://www.mwtcymru.co.uk/txgb.html 

Other useful links:
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•           Sign up to TXGB here: https://www.txgb.co.uk/who-are-you/ 
•           FAQs: https://www.txgb.co.uk/faqs/ 
•           Top 6 tips for working with Visit Wales: https://www.mwtcymru.co.uk/visitwales.html ​

There has been a lot in the news recently about AI ( artificial intelligence ) and the speed at which this is moving and changing the way we interact or receive information. You may not know it, but we can guarantee that most of you have encountered AI in one way or another and not even noticed it. 

So what does this mean for us as tourism businesses? MWT is organising an online session / Q&A with one of Wales' most knowledgeable AI consultants. Jaymie Thomas, Co-founder of AI Wales (Date to be confirmed). 

We have invited Jaymie to talk to our members to explain what it is, and how it might impact you and your business, as well as explore opportunities already available to you.

e.g If you struggle to write engaging social media posts and can't think of what to say, then AI can give you multiple options in less than 20 seconds! Don't have the skills to analyse spreadsheet data? AI can do this for you. 

From management tasks, to the day to day, AI can improve processes and it's important that our businesses are ahead of the curve - but there are also concerns, the future of websites being one.

If you would like to attend please complete the expression of interest form below and let us know if you have any questions.  This will help Jaymie better understand what matters to you as a tourism business, ensuring we make the best of our time together:

• What would you like to know more about in AI or technology?
• What about AI are you uncertain of or confused by?
• What AI are you using in your business, or thinking about using?
• Do you have a specific question you’d like answered?
  
  

Please complete the form below to register your interest and let us know what questions you might have about AI.
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Register Your Interest