Tourism Barometer: June Wave, 2024

Slow start to the year

• About one in six (16%) businesses have had more customers to date this year compared to last year, and about half (48%) have had the same level. However, 36% have had fewer.
• Attractions are the best performing sector, with 25% having more customers year to date than last year and 23% having fewer. At the other end of the scale, self-catering operators have had a challenging year to date, with 12% having more customers than last year but 48% having fewer.

Spring occupancy levels

• Net room occupancy in the serviced sector was 61% in March, 64% in April and 68% in May. Net unit occupancy in the self-catering sector was 59% in March, 65% in April and 68% in May.

Summer occupancy levels – strong expectations for last minute bookings

• Occupancy levels at the time of interviewing for each of June, July and August stood at between 70 and 75% for each main accommodation sector (serviced, self-catering and caravan & campsites). Many (59%) operators say they would like more bookings but expect that the last minute booking trend (driven by unpredictable weather and to some extent, consumers having less disposable income) means they will end up being busier than the current booking levels suggest.

Repeat customers supporting many businesses

• The clear top unprompted positive answer to the question, ‘Are there any particular reasons to be positive about business this year?’ is ‘high level of repeat customers’ (26%). However, 32% have answered, ‘there is nothing to be positive about’.

Bad weather tops concerns

• ‘Weather might be bad’ (30% unprompted) is the most frequently mentioned concern for this year.
• Other concerns which stand out are ‘High operating costs’ (24% unprompted), ‘people lacking in disposable income’ (23%) and ‘Welsh Government policies’ (22%). 

Confidence to run profitably

• 19% of operators are ‘very confident’ about running the business profitably this year and 37% are ‘fairly confident’. For the time of year, this is quite a low level of confidence as often tourism operators are at their most optimistic when the high summer season approaches.

Wales’ tourism offering compared to competitor regions

• Most (74%) operators say that from customer feedback, their region of Wales fares better than other UK holiday destinations in terms of ‘friendly welcome from the locals’. Only 5% say that other UK destinations fare better on this.
• Similarly, Wales is perceived to easily outweigh other UK holiday destinations on ‘range of good quality accommodation’, ‘wide choice of good places to eat’, ‘unique off the beaten track experience’ and ‘wide range of visitor attractions’.
• The two key aspects where UK destinations are perceived to fare better than Wales are ‘ease of getting around by public transport’ (16% say Wales is better but 59% say other destinations are better) and ‘good availability and quality of amenities in tourism hotspots’ (22% say Wales is better but 51% say other destinations are better).
• But overall, operators feel that Wales has a strong offering, led by its natural beauty.