Mr. Alan WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to his oral answer to the hon. Member for Dorset, South (Mr. Bruce) of 17 October, column 12, what is the statistical basis for(a) numbers of tourist visits to Wales and (b) the amount of money spent in Wales by tourists; and how the figures distinguish between tourist and business visits and expenditure.
§ Mr. Gwilym JonesInformation on domestic—that is, United Kingdom—tourists comes from the United Kingdom tourist survey commissioned jointly by the Wales, Scotland, England and Northern Ireland tourist boards. It is based on interviews with United Kingdom residents and measures tourism trips of one night or more for any purpose.
Information on overseas visitors comes from an international passenger survey conducted by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys on behalf of the Central Statistical Office.
573WSurvey totals estimated 7.7 million trips by United Kingdom residents to Wales and a spend of £945 million comprising £745 million on holidays, accounting for 70 per cent. of trips, with business spend at £90 million and (9 per cent. of trips)—the balance being for other purposes. Estimates of 670,000 overseas visitors with a spend of £132 million do not identify business travel.