Tourism is a vital part of our economy; it accounted for 11.3 per cent of all jobs in 2020, and, in rural areas like the one I represent, that proportion is much higher. More than half of those jobs are part time, a far higher proportion than the economy as a whole. It is essential, but it's fragile. Many of the jobs are in hospitality and it is a sector dominated by small and medium enterprises—businesses that we know are still recovering from COVID and struggling to deal with the impacts of Brexit. As COVID and Brexit have taken their toll on our economy and on our hospitality sector in particular, I think it is time we had a renewed debate about how we support our tourism industry.

Business confidence in Wales is at its lowest ever outside of lockdown periods, with retail and hospitality businesses especially hard pressed. There's no getting around these figures: small businesses' confidence is at its third lowest level since the Federation of Small Businesses started tracking it nearly a decade ago. So, I do think it's right that we start looking at how we deliver a sustainable tourism and hospitality sector going hand in hand with businesses in our community across Wales. An example is, today, in Ystradgynlais, a town of 8,000 people in the region I represent, the last bank in town, Lloyds Bank, is going to be closing. Lloyds Bank, which made a profit last year of £1.3 billion. The bank in Ystradgynlais is essential, along with those small shops, to be able to serve our tourism and hospitality sectors. So, we must look at this in the round.

I do have a number of questions about the proposal and about the board that's been suggested. Firstly, to whom is the board accountable? How is it accountable to the sector, but also to the Government and to us here in the Senedd? Who would make up the committees proposed? How would the board be funded? These are critical questions, and I do hope to hear more about these, because what we're talking about is revoking legislation and handing those powers from Welsh Government to a new body.

We have seen complex proposals brought forward around tourism, but there hasn't been a thread through these discussions about the overall visitor experience and the effect that that has on our communities in Wales. Tourism and hospitality are vital to our country. It is about making sure we are a healthy, outward-looking country. I strongly support the need to promote tourism in Wales and the Welsh brand around the world, and hope that this is a starting point for our discussion. Diolch yn fawr iawn.