The Welsh Government's new Wales Visitor Economy Profile 2026 shows tourism accounted for approximately 150,000 jobs in 2024, equivalent to 11.1% of total employment. This is down from 156,000 jobs a year earlier, with the decline concentrated in hospitality, where employment fell from 90,000 to 83,000.
In contrast, accommodation rose from 26,000 to 29,000 jobs, while other tourism employment remained at around 38,000. The report does not explain why those jobs disappeared, and the fall could reflect weaker demand, business closures, changing staffing models, improved productivity or a combination of factors.
Warning sign for local economies
Losing 6,000 tourism jobs in one year is a warning sign, especially given that tourism plays such a large role in areas with limited economic alternatives. It accounts for 21% of employment on Anglesey and 20% in both Conwy and Pembrokeshire. When one industry provides a fifth of local employment, the strength of its businesses and the quality of its jobs are central to that community's economic future.
The report reveals a familiar weakness: part-time employees make up 57% of tourism workers, compared with 35% across Welsh industries. Median hourly pay in accommodation and food services was £12.47 in 2025, against an all-industry median of £16.61.
Productivity and entrepreneurship
Wales had 12,745 registered tourism enterprises in 2025, representing 12% of all Welsh businesses. Nearly four in five employed fewer than ten people, and the official total excludes sole traders not registered for VAT or PAYE, so tourism is dominated by small firms.
Behind each of these enterprises is an owner deciding whether to invest, recruit, introduce a new service, or continue at all. For a hotel, restaurant, attraction, or activity provider, growth might mean installing new technology, developing an experience for the quieter months, or collaborating with local producers. Such decisions require finance, expertise and management capacity that many owner-managers struggle to access.
Policy recommendations
The Welsh Government should establish a visitor economy productivity programme focused on practical changes inside individual companies. Support should address pricing, digital sales, customer data, staff development, succession and investment readiness, with experienced tourism entrepreneurs directly involved in its delivery. Its performance should be judged by measurable business outcomes including higher revenue per customer, more direct bookings, a longer trading season, greater investment and better-paid jobs.
Public finance must reflect the sector's realities, and the Development Bank of Wales should offer appropriate and suitable finance for viable tourism investments, including repayment structures aligned with seasonal cash flow where justified.
Wales also needs a deliberate approach to extending the season. While events, conferences, and cultural programmes can create demand outside traditional peaks, public funding must be tied to economic outcomes. Attendance figures alone tell us little, and a publicly supported event should report the additional overnight stays and local spending it generated, how much it procured from Welsh businesses and whether it created demand when spare capacity existed.
Destination organisations should encourage attractions and major events to buy from Welsh producers and service companies whilst helping firms develop bookable packages that encourage longer stays and let more spending circulate locally.
Scale and future direction
Tourism-related industries generated approximately £3.5bn in gross value added in 2023, equivalent to 4.3% of the Welsh economy. The sector's scale is beyond dispute, but the question is what kind of economy it is creating.
The Welsh Government should investigate the fall in employment, publish a productivity and earnings plan for tourism, and adopt a scorecard covering pay, full-time employment, business investment, seasonality, local procurement, and the growth of Welsh-owned firms.
For too long, success has been measured largely through visitor numbers and expenditure, and whilst those indicators matter, they do not reveal who benefits. Wales already possesses the scenery, heritage and culture. The challenge is to ensure these remarkable national assets enable entrepreneurs to build stronger firms, employees to develop worthwhile careers, and communities to retain more of the wealth visitors generate because, ultimately, that is the standard against which Welsh tourism policy should be judged.
