Exciting new vision for Welsh visitor economy launched at Rest Bay Water Sports Centre

In January, First Minister Mark Drakeford and Deputy Minister for Tourism Lord Elis-Thomas unveiled an exciting future for the visitor economy in Wales at the recently opened Rest Bay Water Sports Centre.

The Welsh Government has published a five-year plan to grow the visitor economy, focusing on Wales’ strengths, it’s landscapes, culture and places. The plan, titled Welcome to Wales: Priorities for the Visitor Economy 2020-25, will be backed by two funds to support the industry.

The Micro Small Business Fund (MSBF) is an investment fund targeting eligible capital investment projects in the tourism sector in Wales. It can be used to either upgrade an existing or to create a new high quality product.

Supported through the Welsh Government Rural Communities Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 and funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and Welsh Government, MSBF is available for micro to small sized businesses with fewer than 50 FTE employees.

Support of between £25,000 and £500,000 will be considered in order to:

• Create and safeguard jobs

• Realise economic benefit and growth

• Deliver quality, innovation and a sense of place

The Welsh Government, in partnership with the Development Bank of Wales, launched the £50 million Wales Tourism Investment Fund (WTIF) bringing together both commercial and grant funding into one combined package of financial support to provide capital investment for the sector.

The key objective of the fund will be to help finance capital investment in tourism projects which have the opportunity to create positive impact on growing the sector and the Welsh economy.

This fund:

• Will provide patient capital to tourism businesses of between £100,000 and £5,000,000 for qualifying projects

• Has repayment terms between 10-15 years and can include seasonality payment breaks

• Will provide increased flexibility of funding

•  Will have funding available from the outset of a project and tranche through the development phase

• Will blend commercial loan and qualifying grant payments in order to reduce the overall cost of the finance

For more information visit the Business Wales website.