Welsh Government Agree to Review Tourist Signing Provision in Aberconwy
The Member of the Welsh Parliament for Aberconwy – Janet Finch-Saunders MS – has secured a commitment from Lee Waters MS, Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Welsh Government, that a review of tourist signing provision in Aberconwy will commence this month.
The Welsh Government’s commitment to take action follows an urgent letter sent by Mrs Finch-Saunders to Vaughan Gething MS, Minister for Economy. Her correspondence highlighted that:
- there is not a single brown sign on the westerly carriageway of the A55 promoting the attractions in Llandudno;
- one sign was blown down around 2013, and not subsequently replaced;
- another sign detailing attractions in Llandudno seems to have been removed and replaced with signs for attractions in the Conwy Valley.
Commenting on the Welsh Government’s approach to destination management, Janet said:
“That a brown sign on the main road that brings tourists from across the world to Aberconwy was blown down almost a decade ago and not replaced goes to show how ineffective the Welsh Government is at supporting our tourism sector.
“It is also unacceptable that Welsh Government officials seem to have decided to replace a brown sign with details of attractions in Llandudno, with one only highlighting locations in the Conwy Valley.
“As I made clear to the Minister for Economy, we should have brown signs promoting the amazing experiences on offer in both the Conwy Valley and Llandudno.
“Tourism's value to the local economy in Conwy is estimated to be worth £887.62million. This is thanks largely to the tireless work of the private sector. The least the Welsh Government could do to help them is provide brown signs guiding guests to exciting experiences”.
It is expected that the review will identify any missing signs and inform the development of a tourist signing strategy, to ensure consistency of tourism signing on the trunk road approaches to junction 19 of the A55 at Llandudno.
The aim is to install the tourism sign updates at A55 junction 19 in the 2022/23 financial year, subject to the availability of funding.