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Wales Online
Wales Online
Entertainment
Owen Hughes & Jillian MacMath

Haven reveals plans to re-open its Welsh holiday parks

Haven Holidays has announced it's preparing to open its Welsh holiday parks in July.

On Friday, First Minister Mark Drakeford unveiled the broad package of lockdown changes and also put hairdressers and the tourism sector on standby to potentially re-open in three weeks and rescue some of the summer season if the spread of Covid-19 continues to decline.

The Welsh Government has said that at its next review on July 9 they will consider whether self-contained holiday accommodation, such as self-catering properties but also en suite B&B and hotel rooms or caravans, can be allowed to re-open. He said people are likely to be able to go on holidays in Wales from July 13.

Now, Haven's guest and proposition director Gerard Tempest has told North Wales Live the company is preparing their nine Welsh sites to re-open from July 13.

The company has five locations in north wales, including Cardigan View, Garreg Wen, Greenacres, Hafan y Mor and Presthaven. It also has four parks in south Wales: Kiln Park, Lydstep Beach, Penally Court and Quay West.

In England, Haven parks will open to owners on July 4 as restrictions are eased, with a July 6 opening for holidaymakers. In Scotland, they are provisionally earmarked to open on July 15.

To restore public confidence, the company has unveiled a number of measures to help keep guests safe, including increased cleaning, social distancing and additional cancellation rights.

But while parks are set to open next month, restaurants, swimming pools and bars on site will not.

Mr Tempest said he is hopeful these facilities will follow suit and re-open over the summer.

He said: "We hope they will open but we don't know they will.

"We are looking at our bars, restaurants, pools and how we can best maintain social distance if guidelines allow us to open these facilities.

"We believe we will at some point in the summer be able to open them and we are looking at how we manage that.

"We will then tweak those changes depending on the advice given."

The tourism sector has been hit hard by lockdown in Wales, and it is hoped a July re-opening would be able to rescue some of the summer trade they would have seen so far this year without the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Drakeford confirmed last week that the "stay local" five-mile restriction is due to be lifted on July 6, and added he has had lengthy discussions with tourism bosses.

From July 13, he said people are likely to be able to go on holidays

  • to a static caravan with its own kitchen and toilet
  • to a rented cottage
  • to a hotel that has turned itself into self-contained accommodation.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, he said: "The visitor economy in Wales needs to use the coming three weeks to prepare to re-open self-contained accommodation in Wales during the month of July.

"Self-contained is very important. Stay local remains for two weeks because coronavirus spreads where people come together where they share facilities.

"If you have in Wales a static caravan that has got its own kitchen and bathroom, if you are renting a cottage, if you are going to a hotel that has turned itself into self-contained accommodation there will be a clear signal for me today to use the next three weeks to get everything you need in place.

"You will be able to start taking bookings for after July 13.

"I am aware how important these businesses are for so many communities in Wales and planning ahead will let that industry work with the local communities.

"We also have to be able to secure community consent for people travelling back into areas that have seen very few visitors and very little coronavirus.

"The people who work in the industry are the local people and they live in these places so the industry is well-placed to have those conversations. People outside Wales know that Wales will be open provided that the virus is under control."

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