The Welsh landscape is uniquely suited to glamping and every year it attracts thousands of high-spending English tourists to parts of rural Wales that few other industries can reach.
But as Wales cautiously edges towards re-opening, with the nation's First Minister saying only that some types of tourism may start again on July 13 if the spread of Covid-19 remains low, business owners say money is "flowing" out of Wales into England and the rural economy might never recover.
They fear Wales could end up with hundreds of "zombie businesses" which simply won't be able to function when they are allowed to open again.
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has given the green light for "self-contained" accommodation re-open on July 13, all being well, but that will be difficult for businesses where visitors share facilities. There is little certainty so far over what the rules will and won't allow.
Mark Bond, the owner of a treehouse accommodation business and founder of Micro Tourism Wales, has lost £158,000 in income since lockdown started.
He will be reopening his site on July 13. But up until Friday's announcement, Mr Bond had cancelled bookings and refunded money to loyal customers, most of whom were English, who then simply booked their holiday over the border instead.
Living-room, which Mark started with business partner Peter Canham in 2011, is based near Machynlleth, Powys, with six remote treehouses for couples and families to stay in.
"Wales can't just sit down and watch as the country gets poorer every day," said Mark. "Living-room was one of the first businesses to offer high-end accommodation in treehouses in the UK. The treehouses have been fully booked every night since they opened.
"Our last guests left at the end of March. As a business we've lost about £158,000 of income and furloughed half of our staff. The other half have been maintaining the treehouses and giving disappointed customers refunds."
The treehouses are built on a traditional Welsh sheep farm on land which Mark leases from a farmer.
"This project is a really important part of their diversification and brings in an extra stream of income," Mark added.
"Micro tourism is intimately entwined with the rural communities within Wales that have quite a large effect on delicately-balanced local economies.
"Visitors are generally high-spending tourists who come and most of us have fewer than 12 units on their sites. This type of tourism fits in well with rural life in Wales but it's under-represented. It happens very quietly in the hills."
Because a lot of micro tourism businesses are essentially cabins, or cabin-like accommodation, in fields, they have very low business rates. That means most owners haven't received much help from the government at all. Nearly half in the industry have received no government support whatsoever.
Living-room has had a £10,000 business rates grant. Together with furlough payments, Mark says the business has received £25,000 worth of government help but by the end of summer, he will have lost more than £200,000 in income.
"So it's nowhere near enough to keep the business going," he added. He is hopeful that he can recoup some of that from July 13, when the treehouses are reopened for business.
Businesses like his reach other parts of Wales that other industries simply can't.
Mark said: "You find micro tourism businesses in the most rural, remotest of places where there's just very little employment. If they start to fail, then the consequences are pretty dire.
"What's happening more and more is that as we get towards the summer, the people with families who are from England all still want to go on holiday with their kids are now asking for a refund and re-booking in England.
"The Peak District in England is really nice or it rains less in the east coast, so this summer, all those people who would have been coming here are dragging their money out of Wales and heading off to England to spend it.
"They'll find they have a lovely time this summer and they'll go there again next year. People are creatures of habit and if Welsh tourism doesn't open up then habits are going to be broken.
"They'll find a lovely treehouse near London somewhere and they'll go there instead."
Mark thinks the micro tourism is at a critical point, with 95% of operators saying they have lost out to English businesses and only a quarter saying they are confident they will survive the season.
"If we don't open this summer the government will have to either let us all go bankrupt or they'll have to help us with more money," continued Mark, who was speaking before Mr Drakeford confirmed plans to allow some holiday accommodation to reopen.
"But even if they help us with more money, when we get to next Easter, we'll just have zombie businesses with no forward bookings and no customers."
Bookings have dried up and are non-existent since lockdown began, he said.
"If the government tries to us keep open they'll just be wasting their time and creating a load of businesses that can't function when they can open."
Living-room is only surviving because it is using money Mark and Paul had saved for a new underground hotel project. They will probably have to abandon that project now, although a good summer would help get these plans back on track.
Mark understands the seriousness of the virus, saying four members of his family living in England had contracted coronavirus and had ended up in hospital.
"The main thing is that people don't die and I really understand that," said Mark. "But they've [the government] got to balance the effect of the lockdown with the future.
"If the Welsh Government don't act now, the consequences will be dire. At the moment, money is flowing out of Wales into England."
Eco Retreats is located in the heart of the Dyfi forest, just north of Machynlleth in Powys. There are five yurts spread out between the trees, with at least a five-minute walk separating each one.
Owner Margaret Rose said people mostly come from England to enjoy the peace and seclusion in the forest. Her last guests were in October last year.
Due to open the 2020 season on April 1, bookings started dropping off from early February, Margaret said, as people got nervous in the face of an unfolding global pandemic. For guests booked in for Easter and May, most agreed to move their dates to later on in the summer.
She has lost half her income from staying closed so far this season and if she cannot open through July and August, those guests who have rescheduled their stays will have to be refunded.
"They want to have a summer holiday so they'll holiday elsewhere in the UK," said Margaret. "I don't know what will happen if we have to refund all the guests.
"I would like to see the government take a nuanced approach to re-opening tourism. There's an enormous difference between five yurts in the middle of nowhere with private bathrooms to a huge hotel or holiday park with shared facilities."
Micro tourism deserves a separate approach because it has a "uniquely strong case" for being low risk, she added.
"The yurts are a high-end place, eco-tourism if you like. People come with that eco-consciousness, with a desire to look after the environment and the local economy. They come with respect for Wales and the Welsh people."
The Welsh Government has repeatedly said it needs to make sure it has the "headroom to use" before re-opening the tourism industry. During press conferences this week, it was confirmed more than once that the Welsh Government will give three weeks of "preparation time" to operators.
"We are intensely aware that once the summer's gone, it's gone", said Welsh international relations minister Eluned Morgan on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said any re-opening would need to be backed up with "supportive local communities".
According to Micro Tourism Wales, 85% of operators say their local communities are eager to see them open.
Margaret, who advertises her yurts with an agent, said: "Because of the unique features we have, we really feel we can re-open in a way which will be very low risk.
"We see the marketing coming in from the agents and it's pushing people to England almost exclusively, so it's like Wales is already being overlooked.
"Before anything has been officially announced, or before the summer season has really started proper, we're already losing out because the marketing attention is focused elsewhere.
"People are confused, they don't understand what's happening, they don't understand how or why Wales is different. It's quite a hard fight at the moment."
Like Mark, Margaret rents land from a local farmer, and it is an important stream of income for him.
"We do have a disproportionate economic impact in the local rural areas in which we are," continued Margaret.
She has received £10,000 from the business rate grant which doesn't come "anywhere close" to compensating the business for what it has lost.
"That picture gets worse every day we're not open," she added.
"It's not just a question of making up for what we would have lost over these three months, it's about how is Wales going to be next year and the next year.
"If our loyal guests go to England this year because they can't come to Wales and they find out that they quite like it there, they might not ever come back."
