Re: Re: Anomie; From friends

I agree with the last speaker. To paraphrase Dr Johnson in a Welsh context :'Tourism is the last refuge of the Scoundrel'. All the cash made by our ersatz tourist 'indigenous industry' (sic) goes back to Mother London's brit fat cat bankers anyway. Let the Welsh tend the gardens and wash the dishes, poor dabs. When we get the Republic bring on the tourism. Until then, as ap Zion would sing: "We'll build a Belsen in the hillside......"  Rhob.         Dewi,   I know you're doing good work in Blaenau and I wish the best to you and all involved. But let me explain my "illinformed predisposition to tourism as a whole". (Yes, you're right. But I like to tell myself it's not that ill-informed.)   Because even if we were to reach the happy land where all the pubs, narrow gauge railways, hotels, adventure centres, gift shops, etc., were owned and staffed by Welsh people I would still have my reservations about tourism.   1/ Given how closely the economy of Wales is interlinked with that of England much of the money taken in Wales and counted as 'income from tourism' would still end up over the border. This fact alone invalidates comparisons with Ireland and other small (independent) countries.      In fact, it is to England's economic advantage to have people take their holidays in Wales because the money spent here stays in the UK, unlike money spent in Ireland or Spain or Greece.   2/ Given our climate, there can be no escaping the seasonality of tourism - and tourism jobs - in Wales.   3/ A major problem caused by tourism is that it attracts many English people to live here, to the point where, in the more attractive areas, few locals can afford to buy a home. This would not change in the 'happy land' of a completely Welsh tourism industry. And tourism also creates unattractive areas. You want an argument against tourism - Rhyl!   4/ More fundamentally, and elusively, I find tourism, especially the kind that has been promoted for decades in Wales, distasteful. The message (to the English)  being, 'This is your playground, it belongs to you - come and enjoy it!' Little or no reference made to the Welsh, the language, the history or the identity, unless it's postcards taking the piss out of Welsh place names. (An American I know once sent me a very similar postcard having a laugh at the Indian place names in Washington State.)   5/  We have the worst possible kind of tourism industry, largely because it was developed to serve England not Wales. We have tens of millions of low-spending, road-clogging tourists every year staying in ugly, sprawling caravan sites when any sensible country would insist on tourists staying in serviced accommodation. We could make more money and create more jobs from fewer tourists if we went down that road.   6/ The Tourist Board (or whatever it's called now) has always been run by Welsh-speakers, yet they seem to blind themselves to the effects of tourism on the language. When he was chairman of the WTB (concurrent with the MG campaign) Prys Edwards publicly stated that holiday homes have nothing to do with tourism! Of course not, and brothels have got nothing to do with sex.      Maybe you've got to admire the man's cheek, or perhaps wonder if he lives in the same Wales as the rest of us.   7/ Following on from 6, I hate the blinkered view we get of tourism. We are asked to believe that it is an unmitigated blessing for which we should be mightily grateful. No one will admit to, let alone address, the downsides. Linked to this is the way that tourism is judged solely by the money it generates.      Yet if we follow that example then we could justify drugs, kiddie porn, arms trafficking - because they all make money and make an input to the economy.   Nevertheless, I agree that in the short term the situation can be improved by getting more Welsh people involved in tourism, but to maximise the benefits we must either have independence or something close to it that guarantees that the money generated by tourism in Wales stays in Wales. But then there'd still be the immigration problem and other issues to address.   I will not be happy until the last tourist is hung with the entrails of the last 'Sunnysands' - "fun for all the fucking family" - caravan site proprietor.     Jac       --   Aye, Wales can be despairing at times.   But regarding the adventure tourism bit. You may be relieved to know that there are many initiatives at present whereas local, Welsh speaking people are being trained to reclaim the 'adventure tourism' sector. Many of these initiatives are run through dedication of YOUNG ordinary (mostly unaffiliated) nationalists who work at community regeneration level. Money is coming from WAG through various bodies & channels, and is being used for courses (Mountain Leaders etc), and a great deal is also done voluntarily, all of which is done with the interest of Welsh culture, identity and the local economy at heart, to promote sustainable cultural tourism and to promote the training and employment of local, Welsh-speakers in real, fulltime, well-paid jobs. Surely this is what is needed.   Like it or not, this adventure tourism exists and, unlike Scotland, well over 90% of it is run - as you say - by English colonists for English proto-colonists. 90% of Mountain Leaders, Caving Leaders, Climbing Kayaking Leaders are English colonists. We must reclaim this sector for our people, and this is what we are doing here in Blaenau and in Gwynedd at the moment. We do not criticise from the edges, we manouevre oursleves into positions where we can make a difference. There are already dozens of locals benefitting from the various Outdoor Leaders courses that have been set up, and work is under way by dedicated, lifelong community and nationalist workers to set up the Cynefin a Chymuned course, for which funding has been obtained. All this will enable us to get those jobs that the colonists now do. There's no point in burying heads in sand and pretend the adventure tourism industry doesn't exist. We must reclaim it and push the colonists out of the wellpaid fulltime jobs that should be there for us.    Also, numerous local projects have been set up - like Antur Stiniog - where local adventure tourism (mountain biking is a highly sustainable industry) projects are set up BY LOCALS who train and EMPLOY LOCALS and also incorporate culture and identity into the whole project.   There are so many positive things happening in Blaenau at the moment - like the reclaiming of the Town Council, the setting up of Antur Stiniog and other projects, and the influence these have given us on the wider Blaenau Ymlaen strategy - that I find it a bit annoying when initiatives are dismissed out of hand just because of illinformed predisposition to tourism as a whole.   These projects in Blaenau are linked to wider funding administered on a county-wide level, and is now being incorporated into this new strategy announced yesterday.   Slowly but surely, we will reclaim the adventure holiday industry. Maybe one day we will reclaim the whole damn shebang.           Just thought I'd drop a line in case you were wondering about my silence and lack of action on Welsh Times. Truth is I'm undergoing one of my periodic bouts of anomie. Possibly brought on by the weather. Not helped by some of the news I read.   Such as Alun Ffred launching a 'new' tourism initiative in Caernarfon. Saying we should promote adventure holidays. Tourism, as we know, is a largely English business in Wales, but adventure holidays and the like are exclusively fucking English, yet Plaid Cymru says we must have more of it! What sort of Wales does Plaid Cymru want to see?   Economically speaking, promoting tourism, seasonal and low paid tourism, is a confession of defeat. It's saying, 'Sorry, folks, we are unable to get you decent jobs so we have no alternative but to push tourism'. (And suffer the consequences of communities where Welsh people can't afford to live.)    Then, yesterday, I was in Harlech having the MOT done on my car. I wandered around while it was being done and, inevitably, found myself scanning the notice boards. One beauty of a poster caught my eye, put up by the Meirionnydd Labour Party.   To begin with, it was entirely in English; but then, I suppose Labour has given up on Meirionnydd. The poster was calling a public meeting to discuss "Developing and protecting the Ardudwy coast" Now what parallel universe do these twats inhabit where logic is reversed so that a coastline can be protected by being developed?   I shall snap out of it shortly and return to the fray. No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2651 - Release Date: 01/28/10 07:36:00     No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2654 - Release Date: 01/28/10 19:36:00