A tourism chief in a Meirionnydd seaside town has spoken of his fears of the ‘disastrous’ effect the lockdown in Wales will have on the industry, which brings nearly £1 billion into the Gwynedd economy.

Towns in Gwynedd came at the very bottom of a consumer spending leaderboard published this week – with spending down by 69 per cent in Pwllheli and Porthmadog and 67 per cent in Tywyn and Dolgellau.

The spending data was gathered by Tortoise Media, for their corona shock tracker, and attempts to track the economic effect of coronavirus.

The worrying figures come after First Minister Mark Drakeford told the Cambrian News that there are “no plans” to invite visitors back to rural Wales soon.

Local business owner and regeneration officer for Tywyn & District Chamber of Tourism & Commerce, Iain Patterson, said: “We’re all really deeply concerned about the virus and its impact, but the Welsh Governments need to have a bit of a plan now about how we begin to open up the economy.

“Whether you love or loathe the Prime Minister, at least there is a roadmap in England.

“Businesses need some hope that sooner or later we’re going to come out of this. The hospitality industry in Gwynedd will be in dire straits if we don’t get the virus under control.

“I am not advocating that we open holiday homes soon, I just want people to realise there is a dreadful economic impact in our area that totally relies on tourism.”

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts said: “It’s becoming evident to everyone, and not just people directly involved in the tourism industry, how critically important the tourism pound is to our communities.

“It’s not just the holiday property and leisure activity owners who have seen their businesses stopping in its tracks, but also employees, cleaners, maintenance workers as well as high street and village shops and garages.

“All these people and community resources face a considerably reduced summer season, at the very least, and fear what the effect will be on their annual incomes.”

Mid and West MS Helen Mary Jones agreed that this was a “huge worry” for Gwynedd and hopes that any support “recognises the Welsh economy is much more dependent on tourism than most places in England”.

“The spring and summer months are of crucial importance to tourism firms as the business generated in those months can provide enough income to get them through the winter months. However, given the current circumstances, they will lose out on that income,” she said.

“Once the lockdown has ended, the tourism sector will urgently need support, while ensuring we don’t have a second wave of coronavirus.

“Furthermore, under the current proposals from Westminster government, the sector will be unable to furlough seasonal workers.

“The Job Retention Scheme must be made more flexible to account for sectors that require physical maintenance of property.”