Bethan pays tribute to caravans’ economic contribution
Posted on Friday, July 9, 2010 at 2:04pm
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Bethan with the Caravan Club’s new Director General, Nick Lomas, in the Senedd
NEARLY £3.7m of consumer spending has been pumped into the economy of the Gower area in the last five years, thanks to the ever-increasing popularity of Gowerton Caravan Club site- and the Club promise there is much more to come.
The Caravan Club’s new Director General, Nick Lomas, recently present a symbolic cheque for £114m to the Welsh Assembly Government’s Tourism Minister Alun Ffred Jones on Wednesday (July 7) at the Senedd to emphasise the economic contribution of sites such as Gowerton to the local communities.
Gowerton contributes more than 82,000 bed nights to the economy of Wales and visitors to the site chip in some £736,000 a year to tills in local shops, pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions.
The Caravan Club estimate that each year its members bring around £22m into Wales and, when this is added to the Club’s direct infrastructural investment of nearly £1m a year, the five-year tally for the economy of Wales bursts comfortably through the £100m mark.
To mark the occasion The Caravan Club staged a champagne reception for nearly 70 industry representatives and Assembly Members at the Senedd in association with Wales Tourism Alliance, the umbrella organisation for the tourism industry in Wales.
The Caravan Club has 20 major locations spanning the length and breath of Wales and a further near-300 Certificated Locations, offering over two million ‘bed nights’ per annum in Wales, and approximately 80,000 members here.
The Gowerton site is one of 20 large Caravan Club-owned sites across Wales which Nick Lomas, new Director General of The Caravan Club, revealed had brought nearly £3.1m to the economy of the Newport area and more than £114m into the Welsh economy over the last five years – and almost all through spending in local shops, pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions.
The area’s regional Assembly Member, Bethan Jenkins AM, who was present at the Senedd event, paid tribute to the impact of the site on the local economy in Gowerton: ”Bringing in nearly three quarters of a million pounds every year to the local economy is a staggering amount.
“Caravan sites are hidden economic generators. These figures clearly show that not only do they offer a quality family holiday that is an good alternative option to expensive trips abroad they have knock on impacts helping local shops and businesses through off site spend. We should be proud of the success of the Gowerton site.”
