New figures have revealed the boosting effect of tourism on the North Wales economy as the sector heads into its peak season. But companies may struggle to take advantage of the boom due to the limited capacity of mobile signal networks, according to a taxi driver who is sometimes unable to take payments from customers.
While mobile coverage continues to improve across the country – 86 Westminister-funded 4G masts are currently being rolled out in Wales – outages remain a problem, even in areas with strong signals. In the summer, Conwy taxi driver Dave Fare can struggle to use his SumUp ticket machine – a mobile payment device that accounts for almost 70% of his transactions.
Peak season tourism overloads local mobile networks and leaves him without a signal, he said. “I was told by one provider, O2, that I would have to wait until winter before reliable service could be restored,” says the 46-year-old father of two.
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“Sometimes it’s difficult to get a 4G signal good enough for the payment terminal, let alone 5G,” says Dave, self-employed driver at Premier Cars Llandudno. “I have changed network providers two or three times in recent years but it has made little difference, especially during the school holidays when the local population can double.
“It’s not great if you hand the machine over to a customer and it doesn’t work. It’s embarrassing when they say they get better reception. When this happens, I have one of two options.
“I can take them to the nearest ATM so they can withdraw money, but this may be some distance away and is time-consuming. It is also a major inconvenience for customers.
“The other option – the one I usually choose – is to trust human nature. After I deliver them, I’ll send them a payment link when I get a signal. Unfortunately, not everyone contributes. It’s not a huge number – less than 1% – but it does happen.” Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group where you can get the latest stories straight to your phone
Dave, a former publican at Ye Olde Mail Coach in his home town of Conwy, said mobile networks in Llandudno often become congested in the summer. The resort has a population of 20,000 but can attract up to seven million visitors annually, putting pressure on local services in high season.
He suspects that mobile use is greater among holidaymakers than among the local population. “They’re all looking at places to visit, looking at Tripadvisor, looking for bus times and trying to figure out what’s going on,” he said.
“The networks can’t handle it. It has been a problem for a while, but with more and more services relying on mobile devices, it is becoming an increasing problem.”
The impact of the annual increase in tourism in North Wales was highlighted in SumUp’s transaction data from last month’s half-year break (May 27-31). As visitors poured into the region, tourism-related businesses saw an average increase of 63% in revenue compared to the previous week.
The biggest beneficiaries, as expected, were leisure centres, with a 161% increase in weekly revenues. Cafes and restaurants (+76%) also benefited, along with music venues (+44%) and open-air markets (+51%).
Smaller increases were seen in mobile vans (+9%) and taxis (+2%). The latter figure came as no surprise to Dave Fare, whose customer base is fairly resilient throughout the year.
“We always see big increases during the summer holidays and summer holidays,” he says. “Tourism is the lifeblood of the region. Take it away and there wouldn’t be much industry left.
“The weather is always a big factor and so far this year it hasn’t been great, although I’ve seen worse. Llandudno is quite resilient anyway and Conwy as a whole has many activities that are not weather dependent.
“There will always be challenges, but my biggest threat is not the weather or a possible tourist tax, but the lack of a good mobile signal during the summer!” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter, sent to your inbox twice a day
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