TOURISTS spent nearly a whopping £4bn visiting Wales last year, in the same year that a series of tourist information centres closed across Gwynedd.

The Great Britain Day Visits Survey shows that in the 12 months ending November 2016, there were 98.5m tourism day visits to Wales, with an associated spend of £3.8bn.

The number of tourism day visits in Wales increased by 33.1 per cent compared to the 12 months previous, with the amount spent rising by 44.1 per cent.

The news comes just months after Gwynedd Council confirmed that TICs in Barmouth, Porthmadog and Caernarfon were to be axed.

2016 also saw the Snowdonia National Park’s official tourist information centre in Dolgellau close its doors.

While the number of trips has also risen at GB level, the increase has been by 13 per cent compared to Wales’ increase of 33 per cent.

On average, each visitor spends £39 whenever they cross the border.

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