TOURISM delivers £2 billion a year into Welsh coffers with £356 million of that coming to Gwent and Glamorgan.

But tourism chiefs have warned that skills and facilities must keep improving for this performance to be sustained or improved.

The Wales Tourist Board wants tourism to grow at six per cent per annum for the rest of the decade and The Tourism Training Forum for Wales - an association of training companies in the sector - has launched a new quality standard for trainers.

Holders of the standard will be entered into the skills development category of the Welsh Tourism Awards.

The forum has chosen former ELWa marketing director Caroline Challoner to undertake assessments for the new service quality standard.

She said: "Tourism is a vital part of our economy and Wales needs to claim a much larger slice of the market, both from the UK and overseas.

"It's essential that visitors to Wales enjoy a quality experience and return time and time again.

"Those who develop the skills for the tourism sector have a key role to play in achieving this ambition and this new standard is designed to act as a major stimulus, spreading best practice and improving overall performance."

Ms Challoner said it was important for the industry to be regarded as more professional so it could attract greater numbers of top-quality candidates seeking rewarding careers.

The industry is estimated to employ around 100,000 people in Wales including full-timers, part-timers and seasonal workers.

It's the part-time, seasonal and low paid nature of the industry which drags down its reputation amongst potential recruits.

The Wales Tourist Board wants to see the proportion of well-qualified, well-paid, full-time staff rise significantly.