Final Evaluation Report: Pan Wales Rural Tourism

The evaluation report is a final report on the Pan Wales Rural Tourism Scheme, covering the 2014-2020 Rural Development Programme (RDP). The evaluation period covered by the evaluation is 2017/18 to 2020/21.

The scope of the evaluation focuses on assessing four tourism schemes delivered under the 2014-2020 RDP, specifically contributing to Priority 6, which aims to promote social inclusion, poverty reduction and economic development in rural areas. The schemes evaluated address Focus Area 6B (fostering local development in rural areas) and 6A (facilitating diversification, creation, and development of small enterprises). The geographic area covered includes rural regions across Wales eligible under the RDP.

The main objectives of the evaluation are:

1. To assess the RDP's contribution to socioeconomic development and tourism sector growth in rural Wales.
2. To evaluate the effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and relevance of the four schemes, MSBF (Micro Small Business Fund), TAIS (Tourism Amenity Investment Support), RTEF (Regional Tourism Engagement Fund) and TPIF (Tourism Product Innovation Fund), in meeting RDP objectives.
3. To provide insights on value for money, including the delivery system, management, and the contribution to the Welsh government’s strategic priorities.
4. To offer recommendations for future tourism support and inform the RDP ex post evaluation.

The evaluation used a mixed-method approach, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative techniques. This included desk research, a web survey of funded projects, interviews with funded projects and Welsh government officials, case studies and a theory of change workshop. Data sources included survey responses, monitoring data and tourism statistics, while programme-specific indicators such as job creation, project support and visitor spending were used to assess outcomes. Evaluation criteria focused mainly on effectiveness, efficiency and relevance.

Key challenges included data gaps, as some stakeholders provided limited feedback, and small sample sizes in qualitative fieldwork, which constrained broader generalisations. In addition, a decision was undertaken that a survey of unsuccessful grant applicants would not be possible as part of this evaluation. This decision was taken as the numbers turned down at the full application stage for some of the schemes were low, response rates for web surveys of unsuccessful grant applicants tend to be low, and recollection of the application process would be very low given that the first tranche of funding applications was submitted in 2017 and contact data for some lead applicants were likely to be outdated. The value for money analysis was only applied to the MSBF (Micro Small Business Fund) scheme due to the availability of measurable outputs

The evaluation concluded that the Pan Wales Rural Tourism Scheme made a significant impact on enhancing tourism infrastructure and boosting visitor numbers in rural Wales.

Considering the final achievements for the four Pan Wales Rural Tourism schemes, against their targets, the MSBF scheme exceeded three of its seven funded targets, one of which was the number of jobs safeguarded. Just over half of the ‘jobs created’ target was achieved by MSBF. The scheme was close to achieving a further three of its funded targets.

The TAIS (Tourism Amenity Investment Support) had five targets to achieve. The scheme exceeded two of its targets (number of operations supported and people accessing services) and achieved around half of its remaining two targets.

The RTEF (Regional Tourism Engagement Fund) and TPIF (Tourism Product Innovation Fund) schemes have performed well. Overachievement in the number of cooperations and stakeholders engaged suggests these targets were set too low. However, performance in job support was weaker, warranting further examination.

The marketing awareness target (30%) was measured via Visit Wales marketing evaluation surveys. It was agreed that the percentage of respondents who spontaneously mentioned Wales as a holiday destination would be the metric. Surveys from 2017-2019 showed an average of 29% mentioning Wales.

The Welsh government used an industry-standard calculation to estimate additional visitor spend from Visit Wales marketing activities. For RTEF and TPIF, this amounted to £365 million over three years (£121.6 million annually).

The ‘jobs supported target’ (set at 35 000 following the re-evaluation exercise) was inappropriately calculated using the number of unique visits to the visitwales.com website and resulted in an unrealistically high target. In light of this, the Welsh government took the decision to base its ‘jobs supported’ output on an industry standard calculation whereby additional visitor spend of £43,700 is required to support one tourism job.

The final reported outputs, while based on standard calculations, have limitations in measuring the direct impact of RTEF and TPIF. Nonetheless, the campaigns resulted in £365 million in visitor spend and supported 2 782 jobs annually, with marketing maintaining 29% awareness of Wales as a destination.

In terms of delivery, the two-stage application process was considered appropriate and user-friendly, though some projects faced delays in processing. The evaluation highlighted the schemes' clear contribution to rural economic development and tourism growth, particularly through collaborative marketing efforts. It also identified the need for increased funding to support high-quality projects and recommended streamlining application processes to reduce delays and administrative challenges.