New figures have shown the stimulating effect tourism is having on the North Wales economy as the industry heads into high season. However, businesses may struggle to capitalize on the boom due to stretched mobile signal network capacity, according to a taxi driver who is sometimes unable to accept payments from customers.
While mobile coverage continues to improve across the country – 86 Westminister-funded 4G masts are currently being rolled out in Wales – dropouts remain a problem even in areas with a strong signal. In the summer, Conwy taxi driver Dave Fare can struggle to use his SumUp card machine – the mobile payment device that accounts for almost 70% of his transactions.
Peak season tourism overloads local cell networks, leaving him without a signal, he said. “I’ve been told by one provider, O2, that I have to wait until the winter for a reliable service to be restored,” said the 46-year-old dad-of-two.
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“Sometimes it’s a struggle to get a good enough 4G signal for a pay machine, let alone 5G,” said Dave, a self-employed driver from Premier Cars Llandudno. “I’ve changed my network provider two or three times in the last few years but it makes no difference – especially during the school holidays when the local population can double.
“It’s not great when you hand the machine over to the customer and it doesn’t work – it’s embarrassing when they say they have better income in bars. When that happens, I have one of two options.
“I can take them to the nearest cash desk to withdraw money – but it can be far and it’s time-consuming. It’s also a big inconvenience for customers.
“The other option—the one I usually choose—is to trust human nature. When I drop them off, I’ll send them a payment link when I get a signal. Unfortunately, not everyone pays. It’s not a huge number – less than 1% – but it happens.” Join the North Wales Live WhatsApp community group to 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 are often congested in the summer. The center has a population of 20,000 but can attract up to seven million visitors each year, putting major seasonal pressure on local services.
He believes that the use of mobile devices is greater among vacationers than local people. “Everyone is checking places to visit, looking at Tripadvisor, looking for bus times and trying to find out what’s going on,” he said.
“The networks can’t handle it.” It’s been a problem for some time, but as more and more services rely on mobile, it’s becoming more and more of a problem.”
The impact of the annual increase in tourism in North Wales was highlighted in SumUp’s transaction data from last month’s half term break (May 27-31). With visitors arriving in the region, tourism-related businesses saw an average 63% increase in sales compared to the previous week.
The biggest gainers, as expected, were leisure venues with a 161% increase in weekly sales. Cafes and restaurants (up 76%), music venues (up 44%) and outdoor markets (up 51%) also gained.
Smaller increases were seen in mobile food trucks (up 9%) and taxis (up 2%). The latest number came as no surprise to Dave Fare, whose customer base tends to be fairly resilient throughout the year.
“We always see big increases during half term and summer holidays,” he said. “Tourism is the lifeblood of a region – take it away and there wouldn’t be much industry left.
“The weather is always a big factor and it hasn’t been great so far this year, although I’ve seen worse. Llandudno is pretty resilient anyway and Conwy as a whole has plenty of activities that aren’t dependent on the weather.
“There will always be problems, but my biggest threat is not the weather or the possible tourist tax, but the lack of a good mobile signal during the summer!” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter delivered twice daily to your inbox
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