Conservative members of the Welsh Assembly have questioned the value of trips taken by ministers aimed at promoting Wales abroad.

Summer recess trips by AMs

Rhodri Morgan : Johannesburg, South Africa; Australia; Saudi Arabia Carwyn Jones: Philadelphia, USA Jane Davidson : Basque Country; Netherlands Jenny Randerson: Brixen, Italy; Brittany Mike German: Ioannina, Greece; Madrid and Santander, Spain Andrew Davies: Brittany; USA; Canada

Ministerial trips over the summer months cost almost �26,000 - but that was without the cost of transporting and accommodating their entourages.

The Welsh Assembly Government has said the trips were mostly to promote Welsh trade abroad.

But opposition AMs say the visits, together with plans to open several assembly offices worldwide, are a waste of public money.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan has described the expenditure as good value for money, but Nick Bourne, leader of the Conservatives in the assembly, has now called for the total cost of the trips to be made public.

"What I'm against are these massive freebies - up to the Gold Coast in Australia, to the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, where no trade was promoted abroad - when we really need the money spent on the health service," he said.

Mr Bourne also attacked proposals to open Wales International Centres (WICs) in key overseas locations.

Good value trips : First Minister Rhodri Morgan

Dubbed "expensive embassies" by critics, the first will be in New York's prestigious Chrysler building, and will cost almost �250,000 in rent alone.

Other centres are to follow in San Francisco, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, and Brussels.

The first minister has hit back at the criticisms. He said if a trip was taken, it was always for a legitimate reason, and for the benefit of Wales.

"Sometimes it's leading trade missions and sometimes it's for study visits to see where experiments have already been carried out - because there is no point reinventing the wheel," Mr Morgan said.

He added that investment in WICs was justifiable.

"I think it is a very sensible move, and it will create more business and more jobs, and that's the sole purpose of it," he said.