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Wales should ‘expect an absolute deluge of visitors’ once Covid-19 restrictions lift

07 Mar 2021 2 minute read
Saundersfoot Beach. Picture by Stephen McKay (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Wales is “expecting an absolute deluge” of visitors once the Covid-19 restrictions lift, according to the chair of a tourism body.

Jane Reese-Baynes, chair of Visit Pembrokeshire, said she was surprised by the number of visitors who flocked there last when restrictions were loosened.

She told CNN that her team will be advising people to visit lesser-known parts of the county so that they do not all flock to the same areas.

“We’re all expecting an absolute deluge,” she said.

She said that last year “I think there was a genuine concern that nobody would want to come on holiday”.

“So, when everybody came on holiday, it was kind of a case of: ‘Right, we have to deal with the numbers now, we didn’t expect this’,” she said.

“There was a real push last year, once we realized how busy it was, to try and communicate out to the trade: ‘Please can you point your guests in a different direction?’”

She added that they would be advising lesser-known spots how to operate at reduced capacity and maintain social distancing rules.

“Even though restrictions will be lifted, I still think that there will be some level of concern there,” she said.

Wales’ next announcement on lifting restrictions is due on Friday. The First Minister is expected to lift current stay at home regulations but may introduce a ‘stay local’ requirement.

However even if Wales was to allow people to move freely around the country, if “essential travel only” restrictions remained in place in England, cross-border travel would still not be permitted, ministers said.

During the last review announcement, Mr Drakeford said that further easing of the restrictions was being considered ahead of Easter, including a phased reopening of tourism.


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