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The "exponential" rise in visitors climbing Snowdon - often causing long queues to reach the top has been blamed on Welsh Government's "heavy promotion".

The Snowdonia Society says while large visitor numbers are good for the economy, it also causes "implications", including overcrowding, erosion to footpaths and litter up Wales' highest peak.

And while visitor numbers have "at least doubled" over the last 20 years, The National Park says it has half the resources it saw 20 years ago.

The issue was highlighted after a video published on social media by one mountaineer who made it to the top on Sunday shows scores of climbers queuing to get to the summit.

The footage was published on the Proud to be Welsh Facebook group by Ian Drew, from Birmingham, who regularly climbs areas of the National Park.

(Image: Ian Drew)

Writing on Facebook , he commented: "Bank holiday traffic even on Snowdon this weekend, what a shame I have stood on here many times just me & my kids never seen it like this."

Hundreds of people reacted to the post, with some describing the scenes as "ridiculous", while others voiced concerns that large numbers of visitors are "destroying the beautiful mountain".

Speaking to North Wales Live, the campaign group says there is "no easy answer" to tackling the number of visitors it sees each year.

Chair of the Snowdonia Society, David Archer, said: "Snowdon is being quite heavily promoted by the Welsh Government and the tourism board as an adventure location which is great for local businesses and the local economy, but this does create implications.

(Image: Ian Drew)

"People want to go to the most popular places, and Snowdon being the highest mountain in Wales is the key factor.

"But if there's hundreds of people up there at once, it reduces the pleasure you get from being there - and there is also the impact of litter and erosion.

"There's also a limited number of people can get to the very summit at once, which of course creates queues."

Mr Archer who said the summit welcomes "well over half a million visitors a year" added: "What we do think is important is that the National Park Authority does have adequate resources to manage and maintain the area.

"Resources are being cut, and the National Park Authority don't have the same budget or the number of wardens as they did ten years ago.

"The number of people climbing to the summit are rising exponentially and when the numbers are increasing, but the number of people to maintain the mountain are being reduced, it is going to have an effect."

While large numbers of tourists bring an estimated £69 million to the economy every year, the National Park Authority says it has a "significant impact" on the local community, the mountain and the environment of the area.

A spokeswoman for National Park Authority, said: "We’re increasingly concerned however that the current standard of infrastructure is beginning to effect peoples experience of Snowdonia and of Wales as a destination.

(Image: Ian Drew)

"We and other partners are doing our best with the limited resources we have.

"All revenue from our car parks for example are invested back into managing footpaths on the mountain and maintaining facilities.

"But it’s not enough. Snowdonia National Park Authority has half the resources it had 20 years ago, and visitor numbers have at least doubled."

As well as working with Gwynedd and Conwy tourism departments to encourage visitors to come at quieter times of year, the National Park Authority says it is working in partnership with the Welsh Government to launch the Snowdon Partnership Plan, which aims to protect the area.

Its aim is to encourage visitors to give back to the area, remove litter from the mountain, repair and maintain footpaths, and to fund visitor facilities.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said, “We are committed to growing tourism in a sustainable way across Wales, encouraging visitors to explore new areas and destinations throughout the year. We are currently consulting on our future tourism strategy, looking at ways we can work with the industry in Wales to explore the challenges and opportunities we face.

“Earlier this year we announced £2.2 million to improve our tourism infrastructure, including improvements to parking, cycle paths and toilets.”