The sudden closure of Oakwood Theme Park has been debated at the Senedd this week, with Pembrokeshire politicians putting forward their fears that they hope the news won’t be a precursor to the ‘decline in tourism attractions’ across Wales.
Responding to the closure of Wales’ biggest theme park, the Wales Tourism Alliance said that the news was ‘disappointing’ for Welsh tourism and jobs.
“In Pembrokeshire over 20% of working people are employed in tourism and hospitality, so this closure won’t just impact the Park’s employees it will negatively affect the local economy as a whole,” said a spokesperson for the organisation.
“A combination of Welsh Government and UK Government decisions including increased national insurance, council tax premiums, 182 day minimum occupancy for holiday lets and proposals for the Welsh visitor levy(tourist tax) risk seriously damaging the Welsh tourism and hospitality industry which contributes £3.8bn to the Welsh economy annually.
“In a recent evidence session to the Senedd finance committee, Mark Drakeford MS denied that these policies would be having accumulative effect on the tourism industry.
“It is surely becoming obvious that a single sector cannot swallow so many changes without there being a cumulative - and wide-ranging – effect which will filter out to the whole economy.
“Many parts of Wales are reliant on tourism and have limited alternative employment opportunities. This means that without jobs in tourism and hospitality local people may be forced to leave their communities in search of work.
“We fear that this closure is just the tip of the iceberg for Welsh tourism,” they added.
Putting forward the matter in the Topical Questions section on Wednesday at the Senedd chamber, Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Senedd Member Sam Kurtz said: “It's really sad news, because Oakwood holds a really special place in the hearts of many in Pembrokeshire and across Wales as well.
“It has been a really important part of our tourism offer in west Wales.”
Responding to the closure of Wales’ biggest theme park, the Wales Tourism Alliance said that the news was ‘disappointing’ for Welsh tourism and jobs.
“In Pembrokeshire over 20% of working people are employed in tourism and hospitality, so this closure won’t just impact the Park’s employees it will negatively affect the local economy as a whole,” said a spokesperson for the organisation.
“A combination of Welsh Government and UK Government decisions including increased national insurance, council tax premiums, 182 day minimum occupancy for holiday lets and proposals for the Welsh visitor levy(tourist tax) risk seriously damaging the Welsh tourism and hospitality industry which contributes £3.8bn to the Welsh economy annually.
“In a recent evidence session to the Senedd finance committee, Mark Drakeford MS denied that these policies would be having accumulative effect on the tourism industry.
“It is surely becoming obvious that a single sector cannot swallow so many changes without there being a cumulative - and wide-ranging – effect which will filter out to the whole economy.
“Many parts of Wales are reliant on tourism and have limited alternative employment opportunities. This means that without jobs in tourism and hospitality local people may be forced to leave their communities in search of work.
“We fear that this closure is just the tip of the iceberg for Welsh tourism,” they added.
Putting forward the matter in the Topical Questions section on Wednesday at the Senedd chamber, Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Senedd Member Sam Kurtz said: “It's really sad news, because Oakwood holds a really special place in the hearts of many in Pembrokeshire and across Wales as well.
“It has been a really important part of our tourism offer in west Wales.”
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NewsTranscript
00:00Will the Welsh Government make a statement on the closure of Oakwood theme park in Pembrokeshire?
00:06The Welsh Government is aware of the situation and is awaiting further details of the impact
00:11on job losses and on the future of the site.
00:15We sympathise with those affected by this decision and stand ready to provide support
00:19to the workforce and to the supply chain.
00:22Thank you very much for that answer, Cabinet Secretary.
00:24It's really sad news because Oakwood holds a really special place in the hearts of many
00:29in Pembrokeshire and across Wales as well, and I've got really fond memories of my time
00:33visiting as a child, and even more recently with Andrew R.T.
00:35Davies, where he shared the photo of us both on megaphobia enjoying.
00:39He enjoyed it a little bit more than I did.
00:40I'm not one for roller coasters, but it has been a really important part of our tourism
00:46offer in west Wales, and people shared their memories on social media following the announcement
00:51yesterday.
00:52Lee Day, who I used to work with, shared the story of the time that he had to hide East
00:56Enders actor Dean Gaffney in a restaurant in Oakwood because he was being followed around
01:01by teenagers throughout there.
01:03It's been really nice, but it comes at the cost and the price of this park closing, which
01:08is deeply sad.
01:09Now, Aspro, the parent company, have cited the unrelenting economic challenges as the
01:14reason for the closure, and they've invested over £25 million there, £1 million in the
01:18megaphobia ride that I mentioned earlier, and they say that national insurance contributions,
01:24inflationary costs to food and drink, and the cost of ride parts and electricity have
01:28all been affected.
01:30So, we can't ignore the impact of what's happened in the budget on the decision by Aspro to
01:36close Oakwood.
01:37So, I'm just wondering what discussions you're looking to take forward following this closure
01:41with counterparts, with the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and those counterparts of yours
01:45up in the UK Government around the impact of NICs, and we can't ignore the shadow that
01:51tourism tax casts across these sorts of businesses as well.
01:54So, is this an opportunity for the Welsh Government to review and reset the tourism tax discussion
02:01given the closure of Oakwood?
02:03On the second point around staff, I've written to the management team locally and the head
02:07office in Madrid asking that staff are supported.
02:11Now, I'm aware of a business who I've spoken to this morning who are looking to take on
02:15staff who are losing their jobs, but what I'd quite like to hear from the Welsh Government
02:20is what they're doing to support staff in the area who are impacted by this closure,
02:25because we know, without staff, these sorts of attractions don't have the heart and soul.
02:29They're the people that really care about this, and the staff that we met on our visit
02:33to Oakwood most recently really loved being part of the Oakwood story.
02:39The future of the site as well.
02:41This is a really prime site, and it's been developed over the years, and I'm aware that
02:46there could potentially already be buyers looking to come in and use the site for commercial
02:51purposes, either keeping it as a theme park or other things as well.
02:55What I'm looking for is a commitment from the Welsh Government to work with me and other
02:59stakeholdersóbusinesses have been in touch with me, I'm sure businesses have been in
03:02touch with the Welsh Government as wellóto try and find a buyer as soon as possible,
03:06because the last thing we want in Pembrokeshire is a site of that size being left derelict
03:10for a number of years.
03:11We saw that with the old CC2000 site.
03:14It became an eyesore.
03:16We don't want that to happen.
03:17So, anything that can be done to support and bring more together to try and buy the site
03:23and continue to run it would be most welcome.
03:26The final point, then, I really hope this isn't the start of a decline of tourism attractions
03:31in Wales and that this is an isolated incident and impact.
03:35So, what I'd quite like is if the Welsh Government could convene a tourism summit with other
03:40large attractions from across Wales to hear their views, to reset the relationship with
03:45them and to hear what's really affecting you following this closure by Oakwood, to make
03:49sure that the tourism sector in Wales is supported the very best that it can be so this remains
03:54an isolated event and not the start of something more sad.
03:57Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd.
03:58Julie James AM I'm very grateful for the question this afternoon.
04:03It is indeed a sad day.
04:04I know that many people across Wales will have very, very many happy memories over the
04:10last 40 years, and it is absolutely a much-loved attraction and has been for many decades.
04:17I think that the business itself, as we've heard, has recognised that there are a range
04:21of factors behind the decision today.
04:24It mentioned also the costs in all areas of the operation.
04:28So, we've heard about ride parts, but then it also extended to the cost of electricity
04:32and inflation in terms of food and beverage.
04:36I don't think that there's anything in relation to the announcement today that suggests that
04:40this is a Wales-specific issue.
04:42I think that the issues that were described are certainly wider than things that the Welsh
04:47Government can have a direct impact on.
04:51I do think the reference across the tourism levy might have been a little bit of a stretch
04:56this afternoon, given the fact that the tourism levy can't even come into place until next
05:01year at the earliest, and the purpose of that levy is to invest in the conditions that make
05:06tourism a success locally.
05:08So, I know that we'll have to continue to disagree on that particular point.
05:13But I think that our main concernóand I think this goes for all of usóis really about the
05:17staff at the site, and, of course, our Welsh Government team works closely with our key
05:23stakeholders, including the Department for Work and Pensions, local authorities and Work
05:27in Wales, to ensure that people who are at risk of losing jobs or at risk of redundancy
05:32do receive the information, support and guidance that they need.
05:36We know that lots of the team is made up of seasonal workers, so I would point to some
05:42of the innovations that we have, such as Big Ideas Wales, for example, which is a really
05:47great opportunity for those young people to consider who might otherwise have been employed
05:53during the tourist season at Oakwood.
05:56So, that's just one idea that might be useful to some people.
06:02But then, in terms of the future of the site, I also share that concern that we wouldn't
06:06want to see that site derelict, and just provide reassurance to colleagues that the Welsh Government
06:13is in contact with those people who might have a commercial interest in the site, and
06:20we'll certainly do what we can to facilitate a quick sale if we're able to contribute to
06:25those discussions.
06:27And then, in terms of the kind of wider tourism sector, I'm really pleased to say that we
06:32do have that kind of large summit, which you referred to, on the horizon.
06:37So, on 27 March, we have our national tourism conference.
06:41It's a Welsh Government conference that is provided through VisitWales, and that will
06:45have some of those large tourist attraction owners at that, amongst others, and part of
06:52the key issues that we're trying to grapple with at that conference will be around sustainability
06:56and resilience for the sector.
06:58Y Llywydd, diolch yn fawr iawn.
07:00Y Llywydd.
07:01Thank you very much, Temporary Llywydd.
07:03Yes, I want to echo the feeling.