The value of the Outdoors Adventure Industry in North West Wales
has been significantly underestimated according to a new report aimed
at getting decision makers in the area to take the outdoors more
seriously.
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Mountain scenery like this helps
to contribute £140 million
per annum to the North West Wales economy
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'The Active Economy' was commissioned by Snowdonia-Active, the
Outdoor sector support organisation for the Gwynedd, Anglesey and
Conwy area and concludes that the Adventure tourism industry
contributes over £140 million per annum to the North West Wales
economy.
Some £60 million of that is contributed to the economy within
the Snowdonia National Park area and the industry is responsible for
over 8,400 jobs across the area, almost 5,500 of which are created
within the Snowdonia National Park. That's almost 6% of all
employment across North West Wales.
'In our view the Outdoor Adventure sector has been overlooked -
the contribution that it makes to the local economy has certainly
been undervalued.' Says Snowdonia-Active spokesperson, Chris
Wright.
The hope is that it will now influence policy makers, to take
Adventure Tourism into account.
'Hopefully,' says Wright, 'people in the Welsh Assembly, local
authorities, the Countryside Council for Wales and other agencies
such as the National Park Authority will look at Outdoor activities
in a different light.'
You can download a PDF version of the report from the documents
section of the Snowdonia-Active web site.
Snowdonia-Active is a group of independent business people from
within the outdoor sector that joined forces in the wake of the Foot
and Mouth access shutdown in 2001 that caused so much damage to rural
economy of Snowdonia. The
web
site is a great source of outdoor news for the area and the group
is responsible for a number of interesting initiatives including
plans to introduce a multi-day low level walking circuit around
Snowdon.
