TRAVEL restrictions have been lifted and Welsh tourists can visit the beaches of Prestatyn down to Tenby – however holiday businesses say it has not had much impact on their income.

The Welsh Government removed its ‘stay local’ rule to Wales-wide travel on Friday, March 26, which saw holiday parks in North Wales receive their first visitors of the year over the weekend.

Easter is one of the busiest times of the year for caravan parks in Denbighshire and Conwy, however many are booked to just five or 10 per cent of their capacity.

Many say they are waiting for the return of tourists from England, but First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed that cross-border travel will not be permitted until at least April 12.

Louis Ellis, manager of Palins Holiday Park, in Towyn, said: “We are open for Easter but there are no facilities, meals or drinks and the pool and arcades are shut,” he said. “Easter is absolutely dead when it is usually busiest weekend of whole year. We are not even at one tenth of the capacity.

“Most of our customers are from Manchester, Liverpool Birmingham, but they can’t come.

“I appreciate that we have to take things slowly and carefully, and I would rather go slower and parks stay open than not being able to open anything. There is still a long way to go.

“Everything is ready and once the government says we can open we will flick switches and off we go. We are almost fully booked for summer now and it is all really kicking off end of May.”

Geoff Mound, director of Lyons Holiday Park, which has sites in Prestatyn and Rhyl, said: “While it’s wonderful that Welsh residents can come and enjoy the delights on their doorstep for now, the majority of our owners and bookings demographics live in England. Thousands of our customers travel from Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and further afield to enjoy the delights of North Wales – but the restrictions imposed by the national government are halting this.

“We’re desperate to welcome back tourists not just in relation to our parks, but to revive the North Wales economy and bring some cash flow in.”

Richard Jones, owner of Llannerch Holiday Park, in St Asaph, had a more positive outlook: “Last summer was good in how visitors came back in such a short period of time. We are staggering it out and April is already 60 per cent booked and May at 70 per cent. There are not many weekends left in July and August.

“A lot of customers have rescheduled their holidays that were cancelled over the last year so it will be nice for them to come. We just want our clientele to come and enjoy the place.”

Mr Jones said he believed the pandemic will encourage more people to take holidays in the UK in the near future.

“We’ll get five or six years of people holidaying in the UK more, but then it will slip back when people forget about the pandemic,” he said.

Adam Jones, of Tan y Don Caravan Park, in Prestatyn, said that of the park’s 170 caravans about five per cent are occupied.

“It is frustrating because Easter is a big time for everyone along the coast when holidaymakers come from England,” he said.

“We have had a handful of visitors from Wales but people who live in England they can’t come. We are supposed to be one country.

“We are just taking each day as it comes.”