“PLEASE use these restored freedoms as responsibly as you can”, Wales’ First Minister says in response to the country’s tourism sector potentially reopening.

Speaking at the daily coronavirus press conference held by the Welsh Government, First Minister Mark Drakeford told the media that ministers want tourism to reopen remarking that it is an important industry for the country.

Mr Drakeford was keen to stress that the public should be sensible and responsible if restrictions are lifted.

He said: "My message to people in Wales if we are able to open outdoor hospitality from Monday of next week (July 13) is please use these restored freedoms as responsibly as you can. This is a really important sector and it employs thousands of people.

“In the Welsh Government we are very keen to see it reopen but we will only be able to do more in the future in that sector and for those people if those of us that do go out to a café, restaurant or a pub use those freedoms in a way that does not put at risk our ability to go on reopening that sector.”

The requirement to stay local has be lifted from July 6, enabling people to travel about Wales and into Wales further than the previous five-mile local guidance.

It also saw the green light from outdoor visitor attractions to reopen, paving the way for the larger tourism sector to begin re-opening from July 11, should conditions allow.

The minster stressed that Government’s approach can only move forward if the public continue to follow the rules and create the headroom needed to allow for the incremental relaxation of rules.

He said: “There is headroom, and we think there will be headroom at the end of this week, but it is how we use the headroom that will count.

“We want tourism to reopen, it is a really important industry. Those communities in Wales that have seen very few visitors over the last few months will begin to see visitors from this week as people are able to travel further.

“We ask anybody that is thinking of going to a beach or beauty spot in Wales to act respectfully, plan ahead and think about the impact of what you’re doing and what that will have on local communities and help us to be able to reopen tourism in a way that will lead to success for that important industry in Wales.”

Mr Drakeford went on to say that, should conditions allow, then the Government will take the outlined steps to reopen self-contained accommodation in Wales.

He says that the Government can then look at allowing more tourism to reopen and recover in what the minister described as a “difficult start to the year” during the upcoming summer months when tourism is usually at its highest.