WALES needs better weather if its tourism industry is to prosper - says the country's own First Minister.

New figures show there has been a sharp drop in visitors to the country in recent years.

According to statistics from Visit Britain, North American holiday-makers to the Land of My Fathers has fallen by 40%.

First Minister Carwyn Jones insisted his government is doing all it can to boost Wales' image abroad via a fervent marketing campaign.

But the qualified barrister was met with laughter from the opposition benches after he blamed the weather for the downturn.

He said: "More than anything else, on top of the marketing support we are putting in, we need to make sure we have better weather than we have had over the past few years. It has not helped.’’ Tourism is worth around £4 billion a year to Wales' economy - with its capital Cardiff being the biggest contributor.

But despite being given a boost to its profile thanks to Premier League football club Swansea City as well as global superstars like singer Katherine Jenkins and actress Catherine Zeta Jones, concerns have been expressed about its tourist trade.

Welsh Liberal Democrat leader Kirsty Williams raised the issue during First Minister's questions in the Senedd, Cardiff, this afternoon She said: "According to visit Britain, Cardiff is the only Welsh town or city in the top 50 most visited places in Britain.

"And in the last six years, visitor numbers to Wales have fallen by almost a quarter.

"Across the UK they are only down by just 3%.

"In 2012, your government spent an extra £850,000 on tourism promotion. What exactly did taxpayers get for that investment?’’ Welsh Labour leader Mr Jones, who last year embarked on a series of trade missions to the USA and China, replied: "What have we been doing? Selling Wales around the world.

"We have committed many millions of pounds to marketing Wales around the globe.’’ Mr Jones added his administration had been developing the overseas tourism market following its £52 million re-nationalisation of Cardiff Airport.

He also said the Welsh Government would be publishing its tourism strategy on June 17.

But following his comments about Wales' wet weather, the First Minister took some stick from rivals for his apparent resemblance to BBC TV weather presenter Derek Brockway.

Miss Williams added: "I spend a lot of time criticising you for things that you don't do, but even I would have to acknowledge that you can't control the weather - despite your well known resemblance to a certain weatherman.’’ The remark later prompted BBC weatherman Mr Brockway to tweet: "The next time I go on leave, I think the First Minister should stand in for me!’’