A North Wales council leader has written to the First Minister in a plea to get tourism back on track by mid-July – and save one in four jobs in the county.

Cllr Sam Rowlands, leader of Conwy council, told Mark Drakeford many businesses in the county will not survive if they don’t reopen some time this summer.

In addition, he wants the five-mile rule relaxed when Welsh Government sets out its plans for the next stage of lockdown next week.

It comes after UKHospitality welcomed yesterday’s Welsh Government announcement that the industry could be given the go-ahead to reopen on July 9.

Business minister Ken Skates revealed the Government could trail that announcement in next weeks’s 21-day Covid-19 review.

Cllr Rowlands does not want to leave that to chance and urged Professor Drakeford to make the announcement.

In his letter, he said: “If tourism businesses in Conwy and the rest of Wales aren’t able to trade at all this summer, many of them simply will not survive.

“As soon as furlough comes to an end, we will see mass redundancies across the length and breadth of the country.

“The tourism supply chain extends through every part of our economy, from food producers to printing companies.

“So many of the SMEs that make up our economy rely on the tourism sector for their business.”

He said the effects will also be felt by farms whose local produce is sold to hoteliers and restaurants.

Cllr Rowlands warned that, with non-essential shops set to open, the tourism industry should not be left behind, as one in four people in the county worked in the sector.

He said the sector had built itself up to be worth £900m to Conwy alone and £3.2bn to Wales.

He added: “If we remain closed while England is open, all that hard work will be lost, visitors will change their habits and holiday elsewhere.

“Our businesses will have to start all over again in trying to win them back to Wales.

“Many businesses will not have the stomach for this. Some will close, others may relocate.

“The double whammy of not having income this year, while simultaneously losing visitors for future years, could quite simply be catastrophic for our tourism sector.”

The leader said he accepted business would have to open safely and he would work with Welsh Government to support businesses to do so.

He ended with a plea to pave the way for the sector to reopen next week, with a warning.

He said: “It is also important to remember that, when considering the health and safety of our communities, jobs are an important part of that mix.

“If our tourism sector collapses, the job losses will be felt in communities throughout Wales, with all the mental and physical health consequences such job losses bring.”

Reacting to yesterday’s call that a tourism restart could be on the agenda, UKHospitality chief Executive Kate Nicholls said: “This is great news for our industry.

“UKHospitality has been campaigning for clarity and a clearly signalled opening date for the industry in Wales to try to protect as many as 40,000 hospitality jobs jeopardised by an extended lockdown.

“We have worked closely with Welsh Government, including the development of a detailed set of reopening guidelines to equip businesses to return- but our businesses have been desperate for guidance to enable strategic planning and to consider inviting their customers to book stays ahead.”