I-Speed SWOT Analysis for Powys (UK)
Contents
1.
Introduction....................................................................................................................................................................1
2.
Methodology ..................................................................................................................................................................1
3.
Scope and Context for SWOT Analysis Report ...............................................................................................................1
4.
Overview of Powys as a region.......................................................................................................................................1
5.
Tourism in Powys ...........................................................................................................................................................2
6.
Narrative on the findings of the SWOT research ...........................................................................................................2
7.
SWOT Analysis Matrix ....................................................................................................................................................6
1. Introduction
This report is Powys County Council’s contribution to the SWOT Analysis element of the I-Speed INTERREG Project.
2. Methodology
The content of this report is based on information gleaned through one-to-one interviews with six members of Powys
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County Council staff holding various roles in Tourism, Economic Regeneration and ICT. External research sources were
used, including Wales Visitor Survey, STEAM Tourism Activity Reports, Ofcom Communication Reports, National Office of
Statistics and Powys County Council policy and strategy documents. All main findings were condensed into this final report.
Not all SWOT findings are included due to the limitations of the report in terms of scope and document length, but the
most pertinent points are included.
3. Scope and Context for SWOT Analysis Report
Powys County Council approached the SWOT analysis within the following scope:
“The County of Powys and the application of Information and Communication Technologies as a means to develop
tourism”
In the context of:
•
•
Powys County Council’s past and potential future role in the development of the use and application of ICT in
tourism.
The overarching objectives of increasing visitor numbers, increasing visitor spend and improving tourism service
provision to visitors.
4. Overview of Powys as a region
Powys is, geographically, the largest county in Wales, spanning an area of some 2,000 square miles that stretches from
Wrexham in the north to Swansea in the south. It is a “land-locked” county, whose Eastern border connects Wales with
England, intersected by the famous Offas Dyke. Powys’ land mass accounts for approximately 25% of the land area of
Wales.
Powys is one of Wales’ least populated counties in terms of people per hectare of land, with only 25 persons per square
kilometre recorded in 2007 (Powys County Council statistics), as compared to 144 persons per square kilometre across
Wales on average. Once a noted focus for manufacturing industries, particularly in the Welshpool/Newtown area, its
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Hazel Bowen, Tourism Marketing Officer. Ceri James, Tourism Information Services Officer. Ffion Williams, Tourism Marketing Officer
Gavin Stephens, Economic Development Officer. Becky Morgan, Development Officer (IT). Cllr Wynne Jones, Portfolio for Regeneration and Development,
Vice Chair, Powys Regeneration Partnership, Political Representative for the I-Speed project
I-Speed SWOT Analysis for Powys (UK)
economy is now heavily reliant on public sector employment (Powys County Council employs over 8,000 people),
agriculture, tourism and service industries.
Powys has a relatively aged population, with the average age being 44 years old, compared to an average age in Wales of
40.9 years. In 2006, an estimated 59% of Powys residents lived in villages, hamlets and isolated dwellings compared with
17% in Wales and 11% in England and Wales (Powys County Council).
The main towns in Powys consist of Welshpool, Newtown, Machynlleth, Builth Wells, Llandrindod Wells, Hay-on-Wye,
Brecon and Ystradgynlais. Of these, Newtown is the largest town in the county, with a population of around 12,500.
Newtown is home to offices of the Welsh Assembly Government, whilst the county council’s main offices are located in the
Victorian spa town of Llandrindod Wells. There are good rail links throughout the county and easy road connections to the
Midlands, south Wales and the M4 corridor.
There are no Universities in Powys, although the higher education college Coleg Powys has sites in Brecon, Llandrindod
Wells, Newtown and Ystradgynlais. Although there is no University in Powys, its population boasts a slightly higher than
national (Wales) proportion with NVQ4 or higher qualifications (27.5% in Powys with this level of qualification, compared to
26.5% across Wales and 29% in GB).
The Office for National Statistics’ figures record that 65,400 economically active and 14,900 economically inactive people
resided in Powys in 2008 (giving a total working age population for 2008 as 80,300). 15.7% of people in Powys are recorded
as being self-employed. This is a significantly higher percentage than both the Wales and UK figures (8.8% and 9.2%
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respectively) . There are over 10,000 jobs directly or indirectly supported by tourism and over 3,000 tourism related
businesses. Tourism related employment is relatively high in Powys (11.9%), compared with 8.8% in Wales and 8.2% GB.
5. Tourism in Powys
Powys does not have a major visitor attraction in the region to act as a draw but has stunning countryside and some
particularly popular areas such as the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Elan Valley Estate. There are over 1,600
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accommodation providers in the region, mainly consisting of small serviced and non-serviced accommodation. The STEAM
report (research showing tourism activity in Powys) for 2008 indicates that Powys had 4.7 million visitors staying a total of
11.1 million days generating a total revenue across all expenditure sectors of £647.2 million. There were 1.42million trips
and 5.7 million bed nights in the same year. There are 6793 serviced bed spaces in the county and 43,855 un-serviced bed
spaces, including camping and caravanning.
Powys’ Visitor Profile - Wales Visitor Survey 2009
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•
•
•
•
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33% of visitors to Powys in the survey were visiting as a Day Visitor
43% of Powys visitors were aged 55+, 41% were aged 35-54 and 15% were aged 16-34.
In terms of socio-economic grade, Powys visitors were more likely to be from the ABC1 grouping (professional and
non-manual occupations) than average; 73% were ABC1 and 27% were C2DE (skilled and unskilled manual
occupations, and non-working groups).
Looking at the type of trip being taken by Staying Visitors in Powys, 47% were on a short break, 31% on their main
holiday of the year and just over a fifth (21%) on an additional holiday.
The main reason for choosing to visit Wales given by visitors to Powys was the scenery, landscape and countryside
– mentioned by 52% of visitors. Other main reasons for visiting included the sightseeing and attractions (35%),
peace and quiet (32%), historic sites (26%) and the history/heritage of the area (25%).
6. Narrative on the findings of the SWOT research
a.
STRENGTHS
i.
Excellent natural tourism product – Rural Landscape, National Parks
Powys has the natural asset of its rural landscape, which includes the Brecon Beacons National Park and the Elan Valley
Estate. As well as the scenery, wildlife, cycle routes, outdoor activities and walking opportunities, history and heritage, the
County also hosts three of Wales’ large events. These are the Royal Welsh Agricultural Show, Hay Festival and Brecon Jazz.
The county also has a strong ‘local food’ selling point.
ii.
Powys County Council takes a leading role in promoting and developing tourism
Most tourism operators in Powys are small and the County Council recognizes this and has developed strategies and plans
in order to take a leading role in promoting and developing tourism in the region. The Sustainable Tourism Strategy sets out
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ONS Annual Population Survey
STEAM Report 2008 (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor) – Global Tourism Solutions (UK) Ltd
Wales Visitor Survey 2009 – Beaufort Research
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I-Speed SWOT Analysis for Powys (UK)
a strategic framework for development priorities and an annual business plan sets out the key delivery activities. Niche
marketing is undertaken for activities, attractions, cycling, walking and food. There is a strong emphasis on ‘regeneration’
based projects to develop attractions, infrastructure, interpretation materials etc.
A large proportion of regeneration
funding has a tourism focus and local communities are engaged / involved in tourism development.
iii.
Excellent tourism projects in the County
Powys County has some strong and effective projects that help boost tourism growth. For example, the ‘Leaping Stiles’
project focuses on creating walks in Powys and providing information on these to visitors and uses many different on-line
marketing methods. ‘Community Welcome’ supports tourism development in communities and supports Web based
marketing. Mid Wales Tourism and Tourism Partnership Mid Wales work with partners to provide training to tourism
businesses in ICT, emarketing and other subjects. This list is by no means exhaustive and there are many other projects
such as green/sustainable and activity related projects such as the Wild and Green Tourism Project.
iv.
Awareness of the need to improve ICT services and deliver more tourism information electronically
It is clear that those involved in the tourism department in Powys County Council are aware of the need to use ICT to
promote tourism and deliver more information to visitors electronically both before they visit and during their stay. On a
wider level, Powys County Council’s ICT Strategy 2009 – 2012 sets out clear plans to transform the way in which internal
and external facing ICT services are provided and managed, along with increased ICT adoption and permeation into many
business processes.
v.
Good working partnerships with other key partners
Powys Council Council has a good working relationship with other key partners supporting tourism in the region. These
include, not exclusively, Tourism Partnership Mid Wales, Visit Wales, Mid Wales Tourism and the Brecon Beacons National
Park Authority. Activities include joint funded marketing, collaborative projects to boost tourism and improve the quality of
the tourism product, data sharing and strategy synergy.
b. WEAKNESSES
i.
Lack of required ICT skills in Tourism Department and lack of joined up ICT resource
In order to exploit the use of ICT as a marketing and destination management tool, the Tourism department needs to have
access to appropriate ICT skills. The required skills are not currently available and whilst the corporate ICT department
could be seen as able to assist in this respect, it is debateable whether the commercial ICT and eMarketing skills are
present, or even sufficient resourced to support the tourism department. This could be addressed by either outsourcing
various elements or building on the central ICT department with dedicated staff to assist with ICT in tourism.
ii.
Reliance on paper based marketing / insufficient emarketing activity
Whilst Powys County Council does have a main Website (www.exploremidwales.co.uk) the main marketing activity is seen
as the production and distribution of brochures (90,000 with 50,000 being distributed through Visit Wales). Very little
information on the success of these brochures is known and it is an expensive operation. Other emarketing activities are
not utilised effectively, such as paid on-line advertising, email marketing and social networking
iii.
Lack of suitable visitor database
Powys County Council does not have a suitable database of past or potential visitors to the area for marketing purposes.
Although Visit Wales sends brochures out on behalf of Powys, the recipient’s details are not passed on. Some tourism
research is available that indicates the type of visitors to the area but there is very little information on who the visitors are
and what they do while they visit. Without detailed information on visitors to the area, interacting with them prior and
during visits is difficult and direct marketing or building customer relationships is not possible.
iv.
Use of approved ICT systems or in-house ICT services can hinder effective use of ICT in tourism
Currently, Council policy requires the main tourism Website for Powys to be developed using the same content
management system as the remainder of the council Website. As such, there are limitations on what the Website can do
and the general feeling is that this hampers the department’s ability to act effectively in a commercial market. The tourism
department can be frustrated by compromises that have to be made and be satisfied by what is possible using the system,
rather than specifying requirements and sourcing a professional supplier to deliver. Another example is the desire to offer
WiFi to visitors, potentially at tourism information centres, which has been restricted due to the risk of compromising the
Authority’s network.
v.
Tourist information centres numbers are reduced and devolved, leading to possible quality issues and potential
gaps in information provision
Powys County Council took the decision to close all but one of its Tourist Information Centres and instead provide grants to
fund eight community Tourist Information Centres (TICs). This decision was based on evidence showing a fall in the use of
TICs as an information resource by tourists, with the Internet being seen increasingly as the choice for tourists, and also the
need to cut costs. There are concerns over the quality of the service provided at the community TICs and it is important
that the Internet information provision is improved to fill the gap left by the change in the TIC presence. There are concerns
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I-Speed SWOT Analysis for Powys (UK)
that the relationship between the trade and Powys County Council may have been affected due to this closure. Effective
engagement by Powys County Council with the trade is vital.
vi.
Limited budgets and staff reductions have reduced activity
Restructuring and cost savings have resulted in lower staff levels in the tourism department and this, combined with the
need for further cost savings has impacted on the activities undertaken by the department. For example, Powys County
Council now no longer attends certain events and trade shows to promote the County as a Tourist Destination. There is also
less of a staff resource within the department to undertake other marketing activities.
c.
OPPORTUNTIES
i.
Improvements to the Web presence in Powys
The current main Website, www.exploremidwales.co.uk, could be improved to have a more modern feel and more
effective functionality. There have been moves towards a more interactive Website with features such as ‘Build a Brochure’
and the on-line shop, but they are not very effective at present. The Website could be more inclusive in terms of the
number tourism businesses featured by either linking into central data feeds for this information or removing the need for
businesses to advertise in the paper based brochure before being included on the Website. The content on the multiple
activity and community based Websites in the region could be made more consistent, with increased synergy between sites
in order to improve consistency and help to create more of a brand for Powys, reducing confusion for the potential visitor.
The main Website needs to compete effectively with other Websites serving competing tourist destinations.
ii.
Green tourism
Whilst climate change is one of the most also one of the most serious threats to tourism, the tourism industry has a vested
interest in working to minimise climate change through the provision of “green” or environmentally friendly tourism
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services and resources. The UNWTO reports that tourists are increasingly willing to pay a premium for sustainability or
environmentally-friendly practices and operators are responding with new products and services. Powys is well placed to
take advantage of this trend with its rural, clean landscape and projects in place to encourage and promote
‘Green/Sustainable’ tourism, the Wild and Green Tourism run by Glasu being one example.
iii.
Improved destination management on-line
There is scope to improve the destination management within the County in terms of increasing the availability of visitors
to check availability and book on-line, both at a Powys County Council level and individual tourism provider level. Increased
information sharing and collaboration between accommodation providers, attractions and travel companies could simplify
and improve the offering to potential tourists to the area.
iv.
Improved use of emarketing
More and more visitors are booking and planning their holiday on-line and so an accessible Web presence is vital, along
with a cohesive emarketing strategy. Emarketing is under utilised in Powys at present and there is an opportunity to
improve its use in the form of email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, social networking and enhanced search engine
optimisation. Currently, the emphasis is on paper based marketing through the brochure and whilst this still has its place,
digital technologies can be used to greater effect to increase visitor numbers and assist visitors in planning their visit to the
region.
v.
Communicate more effectively with tourists while in Powys using ICT
There is an increasing trend for visitors to Powys to make day visits to the area (STEAM report, first half of 2009), which
supports the overall trend for visitors to make shorter visits with less prior planning. Providing information via Websites
that can be accessed using portable devices such as mobile phones, iPhones and netbooks over 3G networks or wireless
internet could facilitate this and in turn increase spend, quality of visit and potentially even length of stay. Wireless
hotspots at key locations throughout county the would assist with overcoming the lack of 3G or even 2G mobile
connectivity at many locations in Powys. Whilst Powys County Council is reluctant to create wireless hotspots due to
security risks to the network, it may be possible to introduce internet connections provided by external broadband
suppliers. A trial of public WiFi is underway in libraries in Powys.
vi.
Introduction of Touch Screens, outside of the County
Whilst the introduction of ten touch screens at various locations throughout the County is a positive step, there is an
Opportunity to site similar touch screen facilities at major railway stations and other locations that either act as gateways
to the County of Powys or locations that are used by potential visitors external to the county.
c.
THREATS
i.
Economic situation (disposable income, fuel prices)
The much publicised downturn in the economy is very likely to have an impact on both visitor numbers and visitor spend.
Visitors to the area are likely to be seeking better value for money from their visit and undertake more discretionary
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World Tourism Organisation
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I-Speed SWOT Analysis for Powys (UK)
spending. Ad hoc reports from the tourism providers in Powys point towards a much slower than usual start to the year
(2010) in terms of advance bookings.
ii.
Lower than UK average use broadband and varying quality and availability of broadband and wireless hotspot
infrastructure
The availability of quality broadband and telecommunication is a threat to the provision of Wireless Hotspots by the
Authority and individual tourism providers. Furthermore, it can hinder the advanced adoption of ICT technologies by
tourism related businesses. Powys as a region, and in fact Wales as a whole, lags behind the rest of the UK in terms for
availability of connectivity and adoption of technology. For example, in Wales 83% of people have access to a fixed
telephone line compared to 87% in the UK. Broadband penetration, although increasing in Wales, is at 58% compared to
68% in the UK. 85% of people in Wales have a mobile phone, compared to 89% across the UK. In Wales, 18% of premises
within Wales are over 5Km from the exchange ( Ofcom, The Communications Market Report 2009 – Wales). This distance
from the telephone exchange limits the speed of connection to the internet.
iii.
Poor 2G and 3G mobile coverage
A considerable threat to the use of mobile handsets to provide information to tourists while in Powys is the poor availability
of 2G and 3G coverage. Wales as a whole has worse mobile coverage than the UK average. 92% of the Welsh population
have 2G coverage from at least one provider (UK 98%). Wales has just 40% 2G coverage from four providers. 39% of Wales
has access to 3G from at least one provider (75% UK average). 7% have 3G access from four providers (32% UK average)
(Offcom, ‘Mostly Mobile’, date?).
These figures are for Wales as a whole and coverage is significantly worse in Powys. An indicator of this is the A470 Mobile
coverage survey case study (2008) undertaken by Ofcom, where one of the main trunk roads running through Powys (not
exclusively) was tested for mobile coverage by making calls on various networks every 2 minutes. The research shows that
32% of all 2G handset calls failed and of those that connected, 11% dropped connections within 90 seconds. Of calls made
by dual mode 3G/2G handsets, 39% failed and where calls could be made, only 17% of calls were made using 3G.
iv.
Competition from other tourism destinations who are making more use of ICT
There is a danger that Powys could fall behind other tourism destinations both in the UK and abroad if the tourism sector
does not at least keep pace with other destinations in terms of use of ICT in tourism. If the opportunity to increase
communication with visitors using electronic means is not taken, visitor numbers may fall.
v.
Fall in staying visitor numbers and increased tendency for ‘day visits’
Visit Wales (2009) reported that since 2006 there has been a downward trend in visitor volumes to Mid Wales. The STEAM
report for Powys in the first half of 2009 shows falling tourist days by ‘staying’ visitors decreasing by around 20% on the
same period for the previous year. However, Day Visitors increased by 7% over the same period. Whilst these STEAM
statistics are only one set of figures relating to the sector, this does at least show a worrying trend in falling numbers of
staying visitors, which has knock on consequences for visitor spend in the region.
vi.
Climate change
The World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) comments that tourism and travel is a vital contributor to the global economy
and especially important for many developing countries. It furthermore acknowledges that climate change is one of the
most serious threats to tourism, with climate defining the length and quality of tourism seasons, this in turn affecting
tourism operations and influencing environmental conditions that both attract and deter visitors. It thus declares that the
tourism sector is considered to be highly-climate sensitive and that the effects of a changing climate will have considerable
impacts on tourism. It follows therefore that the tourism industry has a vested interest in working to minimise climate
change through the provision of “green” or environmentally friendly tourism services and resources.
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I-Speed SWOT Analysis for Powys (UK)
7. SWOT Analysis Matrix
Strengths
Weaknesses
• Excellent natural tourism product – Rural
Landscape, National Parks
• Lack of required ICT skills in Tourism Department
and difficult to source within the Authority
• Powys County Council takes a leading role in
promoting and developing tourism
• Reliance on paper based marketing / insufficient
emarketing activity
• Excellent tourism projects in the County
• Lack of suitable visitor database
• Awareness of the need to improve ICT services
and deliver more tourism information
electronically
• Use of approved ICT systems or in-house ICT
services can hinder effective use of ICT in tourism
• Good working partnerships with other key
partners
• Tourist information centres numbers are reduced
and devolved, leading to possible quality issues
and potential gaps in information provision
• Limited budgets and staff reductions have
reduced activity.
Opportunities
• Improvements to the Web presence in Powys
• Green tourism
• Improved destination management on-line
• Improved use of emarketing
• Communicate more effectively with tourists while
in Powys using ICT
• Introduction of Touch Screens, outside of the
County
Threats
• Economic situation (disposable income, fuel
prices)
• Lower than UK average use broadband and
varying quality and availability of broadband
• Poor 2G and 3G mobile coverage
• Competition from other tourism destinations
who are making more use of ICT
• Fall in staying visitor numbers and increased
tendency for ‘day visits’
• Climate change
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