91Èȱ¬

Wales is spending less on tourism in real terms than it was 11 years ago and slipping behind its more successful European competitors, warns tourism expert Terry Stevens.

Mr Stevens calls for a drastic shake-up of the way tourism - the second-biggest sector of Wales' economy - is run, to give more responsibility to the private sector rather than the public sector.

He says that spending by tourists, and for tourists, isn't rising in line with inflation.

Although tourism is said to bring around £3.5bn into the Welsh economy annually, tourism consultant Terry Stevens tells Eye on Wales that it's unclear how specific locations and destinations are performing, and that headline figures may be misleading.

Mr Stevens, a former Wales Tourist Board member who now runs Stevens Associates in Swansea, says that local authorities are working to outdated tourism legislation.

And he warns that tourism may be one of the first areas to be hit by spending cuts when they come, as it isn't a statutory function for local authorities.

Mr Stevens calls for Wales to adopt a new model of 'Destination Management Organisations' - run by the private sector, directing public funds to where they're needed most.

He says the model has proved successful in other leading European destinations, including Croatia, Latvia, Slovenia and Austria.

And the programme hears from tourism operators in Scotland, who have adopted the model in recent years to run iconic destinations such as Loch Ness, Aviemore and the Isle of Arran.

Mr Stevens' concerns are echoed by Alun Cairns, Conservative spokesman for tourism in the Assembly and MP for the Vale of Glamorgan.

He describes the performance of government tourism agency Visit Wales - which replaced the Wales Tourist Board in 2006 - as "dreadful."

Alun Ffred Jones, Assembly minister with responsibility for tourism, acknowledges that spending has fallen but says there is much indirect investment - for example on transport - which has knock-on benefits for the tourism industry.

He says the private sector is already involved in a number of areas of tourism marketing and organisation in Wales.