Swansea Bay promoted as destination for adventure

If adventure is what people are after, then Swansea Bay is the place to be this year.

Swansea Council’s tourism team held an event at the Brangwyn Hall on Thursday January 28, where they let local tourism businesses and tourism organisations know how they can get involved with exciting plans to promote the destination far and wide in 2016.

Figures show tourism is worth more than £390 million a year to the Swansea Bay economy, supporting close to 6,000 jobs.

The theme for this year, tying in with a Visit Wales campaign that was launched on primetime TV earlier this week, will be ‘Your Swansea Bay adventure starts here’. That could mean surfing or sailing, or simply trying out locally-produced food or camping for the very first time.

“Adventure means different things to different people and we want to make sure all our tourism businesses benefit from our campaign,” said Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration. “For some, adventure could mean adrenaline-pumping activities like paintballing, windsurfing or mountain biking, but for others it could mean a scenic coastal stroll or sampling local cockles and laverbread in one of our top class restaurants. The great news is that Swansea Bay has it all, so it’s the perfect place to visit in 2016 for people looking to experience something different, whether it’s local residents or visitors from afar.

“Our tourism team does a fantastic job in raising the profile of Swansea Bay as a visitor destination across the world, but they’re looking to raise the bar even higher this year and capture the imaginations of millions of potential visitors through a combination of innovative and eye-catching marketing campaigns, both online and offline.

“The event for local tourism businesses and tourism organisations on Thursday was the perfect opportunity to share our plans and try to get as many people involved as possible. It builds on the success of a Destination Management Plan we already have in place that ensures we’re working more closely than ever alongside accommodation and activity providers, as well as partners including Tourism Swansea Bay, to continually improve the tourism experience here.”

Over 100 delegates from the tourism sector across Swansea Bay attended Thursday’s event, which was part-funded by the Welsh Government’s Regional Tourism Engagement Fund. Speakers included polar adventurer Maria Leijerstam and Andrew Price, an ITV Coast and Country programme presenter who runs Dryad Bushcraft in Killay.

Skidz Karting, Swansea Watersports, Gower Stand-up Paddle, Gower Activity Centres, Gower Adventures and the 360 Beach and Watersports Centre all exhibited at the event. Exhibits included a Thunder Cat boat, a power boat, a windsurfing board and an inflatable stand-up paddle board.

Swansea Council’s tourism team were also on hand with a giant Visit Swansea Bay photo frame that delegates were encouraged to have photos with and then share on social media. Branded #VisitSwanseaBayAdventures banners were available for use in the photos.

The team also arranges and accommodates visits from travel journalists to cover destination Swansea Bay. Recent coverage has included BBC Countryfile and a blogger from The Travel Hack who has more than 30,000 followers on Twitter.

Writers from publications including Great British Food and One Magazine are among those visiting in coming weeks.

Cllr Francis-Davies said: “These visits lead to thousands of positive on and offline column inches about Swansea Bay. It’s a level of exposure you just can’t buy.”

The number of visitors who came to Swansea Bay in 2014 was up to 4.47 million – a 2.8% increase on 2013. More than 1.5 million of these visitors stayed in the area for a holiday or a short break – a 9.4% rise on the year before.

Have a look at www.visitswanseabay.com for more information.