Wales day trips up 24% after warm weather boost

More than £4m was spent by tourists visiting Wales on day trips in the last 12 months, partly due to warm weather.

The latest official figures show more than 104.6 million day trips were made between April 2016 and March 2017 - up 24.4% on the year before.

The average spend per visit was £42 - up £4 on the previous year and above the UK average.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said tourism to Wales remained positive in "a challenging global market".

The Great Britain Day survey showed the amount spent increased from £3.2m to £4.3m, a 34.9% increase compared to the same period beginning in 2015.

The most visits were made in May, partly due to the warm weather, with city or large towns being the most popular destination.

The Met Office said the weather was generally warmer than the year before.

Mr Skates said the Champions League finals in Cardiff last weekend gave Wales a platform to boost tourism.

He said: "Our overseas visitors also increased last year and we'll make the most of our chance to sell Wales to the world as the place where fans had a remarkable experience during the Champions League final and which saw Gareth Bale lifting the trophy in his home city."

• About 5,000 people were surveyed in Wales as part of the Great British Survey.

• Tourism days are defined as trips of three or more hours, including travel time.

• They must be for leisure purposes, non-routine and outside the place of residence or workplace, with the exception of visits to tourist attractions and special events.

• In Great Britain, 1.8 billion trips were made between March 2015 and April 2016 - up 0.6% on the same period in the year before.