Wales' visitor attractions are "running out of money and running out of hope", bosses say as they call for a clear route out of lockdown.

While England and Scotland have outlined plans to get visitor attractions reopened, in Wales no firm route is yet in place, leaving bosses to claim they are being "left in the dark".

First Minister Mark Drakeford has indicated that tourism could reopen for Easter, but the Welsh Association of Visitor Attractions has now warned that is businesses are still suffering massive losses, building on a £44 million decline in their fortunes last year.

Ashford Price, PR officer for WAVA, said: “This situation is untenable and cannot continue.

"Welsh Government must now listen to the calls from WAVA and other tourism industry bodies and set out a clear roadmap for reopening. While we all understand that no dates can by fully guaranteed and will be subject to virus levels continuing to fall, it is now time for a commitment from Welsh Government to the hundreds of businesses that make up the Welsh tourism industry which employes some 12 per cent of the Welsh workforce.

"Not being allowed to reopen for Easter, one of the busiest periods of the tourism year is going to be a financial disaster for many attractions."

WAVA Attractions had 2.9 million fewer visitors in 2020 when compared to 2019.

Some attractions are now close to permanent closure and desperately need financial help, he warned.

WAVA attractions acknowledge with gratitude that the Welsh Government has given financial support during this difficult time, but with huge bills forecast for April, and with no Easter tourism income to look forward to, the prospect of bankruptcy, or closure looms for some attractions.”

Mr Price went on to say: “Many staff have already left the tourism industry owing to the uncertainty of what the future holds, and those that remain are very fearful about their job prospects for 2021.

"Quite simply we cannot at present give our loyal staff any idea as to when we can re-employ, the reason being that we have no idea when our attractions will be allowed to reopen this year."

Colin Evans. director of the Cantref Adventure Park near Brecon, said: “What all Welsh attractions want is some certainty about their futures and the prospect of when we can reopen.

"We all realise that much will depend on the virus levels dropping and staying low, but we need as a minimum some date that we can aim for to reopen, as the present situation is simply no longer tenable for Welsh attractions.”