Outdoors Underestimated In North Welsh Economy

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.

Mountain scenery like this helps to contribute £140 million per annum to the North West Wales economy

'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.

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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.