HOTELIERS were left “disappointed” after the cancellation of a major event on the Welsh political calendar.
The Imperial Hotel, Llandudno, has been left trying to fill a gap of 200 bookings for the first weekend in February after the Welsh Conservative Party scrapped its conference.
A spokesperson for the party said they wanted to focus on the forthcoming council elections, and instead of a party conference wanted a one-day rally, to launch their Local Government campaign.
The date and location of the rally is yet to be confirmed.
Geoffrey Lofthouse, general manager of The Imperial, said he had been left “slightly upset” and “disappointed” that the party cancelled their conference at such short notice.
He said: “It’s not just the Welsh Conservatives who attend, but the support people, the BBC, journalists, the lot - it’s very bad for the town. It would virtually have filled the hotel.”
He added that it would be “very difficult” to fill the gap left by the cancellation.
David Williams, head of the Llandudno Hospitality Association, described the move as “bad news all round” for the town.
“The conference always gets quite a lot of media attention, which it will now not get. It’s always shown Llandudno and Venue Cymru in a good light.”
Guto Bebb, MP for Aberconwy, remained hopeful that hoteliers left smarting from the turn of events, would benefit from the rally.
He said: “I sincerely hope that the one-day rally will come to Llandudno, and I’m making my voice heard in that regard. And the Welsh Select Committee is coming to Llandudno as well.”
A spokesperson for Welsh Labour said the party was committed to bringing its top politicians to Llandudno for three of the next six years.
“The party has held two of the last four national conferences at the fantastic Venue Cymru in Llandudno, and we have signed an agreement to host three conferences in the next six years at the venue.”