ANGLESEY’S man in Westminster believes the island’s agriculture and food industries could play a crucial role in attracting tourists.
Talking at the Anglesey Show on Tuesday, Albert Owen MP gave an optimistic outlook on the economic plight of the island.
He said the rise in the standard of restaurants across Anglesey had given the tourism industry a much-needed boost – but is urging closer co-operation between food producers and the island’s eateries.
Mr Owen said: “I’m finding over the years that people’s confidence is growing.
“There is growth in the economy, and although there's no measureable growth at the moment, we can see it improving.
“There is no real divide between food and agriculture. Around two per cent of people are farmers and food producers and 100% of us eat food, so we need to get that other 98 per cent to have confidence in that two per cent.
“Anglesey can do that in a microcosm. We’ve got it all, we’re the island of choice. The high bar we’re setting now is brilliant.
“In mid-Wales, they have to import seafood, but we have it right here.”
Mr Owen also believes the Welsh Government should continue to support the under-fire Cardiff-Anglesey air link.
Opposition politicians have called for the subsidised service to be scrapped, but Mr Owen believes that travel links should not be closed, but expanded.
He added: “I’m totally for the air link. I don’t use it but I helped set it up.
“We need a link with Cardiff because it’s about bringing peripheries to the cities.
“You look at Cornwall, Cardiff, Anglesey and Belfast and it’s a corridor. Belfast, as a capital city can be just half an hour away from us.”