Tourism now worth over £390 million to Swansea Bay’s economy

HUGELY positive new figures show tourism was worth more than £390 million to the Swansea Bay economy last year.

The figures for 2014 just released by STEAM (The Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Model) show a 5.35% increase in visitor spend on the previous year.

The number of visitors who came to Swansea Bay was also 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.

This translates into 5,910 jobs now supported by the tourism industry – that’s a very encouraging 5.2% increase on 2013.

A recent survey carried out in Swansea Bay also showed a visitor satisfaction level of 97% and the best accommodation occupancy rates in a decade.

Swansea Council has been spearheading a number of campaigns to attract as many higher spending visitors to Swansea Bay as possible. These campaigns have included working with local tourism industry partners to attract and accommodate journalists and bloggers from a number of high-profile publications and programmes such as Coast Magazine, Countryfile, the Radio Times, the Daily Mail, the Daily Star, Grazia magazine and the Daily Express.
A number of local businesses were featured in coverage as a result of hosting visits, including the Grape and Olive, Café TwoCann, Surf GSD, the 360 Beach and Watersports Centre, Morgans Hotel and the Dylan Thomas birthplace.

Catherine Cann, of Café TwoCann in the SA1 area of the city, said: “We’ve worked in partnership with the Council’s tourism team in hosting various visits from journalists and, as a result, we’ve have seen some really great coverage for our business in a wide range of publications – both on and offline. The visits are a great way for us to showcase Café TwoCann and the destination as a whole to a broader audience, so we’re delighted to be part of the campaign. We’re also looking forward to continuing to help promote Swansea Bay, Mumbles and Gower to potential visitors in future.”

An imaginative outdoor media campaign called Swansea Bay Moments has also seen eye-catching posters featuring beauty spots like Rhossili Bay go up in key locations, such as the London Underground, Manchester Victoria railway station and Liverpool Parkway railway station.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “We’re so lucky here in Swansea to live on a coastline blessed by a number of  award-winning beaches, stunning countryside and world class views. Swansea Bay lends itself as a natural amphitheatre for tourism, but visitors don’t just come here by chance. This is why we’re as creative as possible in generating new campaign ideas that will ensure Swansea Bay stands out from the crowd when people are considering their potential holiday choices.

“We have a Destination Management Plan in place that ensures we’re working more closely than ever alongside local tourism businesses and other tourism organisations to keep on improving the visitor experience here and encourage as many first-time and returning visitors to Swansea Bay as possible. This was put together following extensive research among tourists and people working in Swansea Bay’s growing tourism industry. Despite these hugely encouraging figures, this demonstrates we’re determined to keep improving as we look to enhance Swansea Bay’s global prominence.

“We’ll continue to make the most of all that our natural and built environment offer, together with profile-raising opportunities such as Swansea’s now well-established association with the Premier League’s worldwide brand. This is why campaigns encouraging people to visit Swansea Bay will roll out in the footballing heartlands of the UK. We’re also striving to make sure that we have a number of major, annual anchor events that will attract people year on year. We can then work around these major events with other event organisers to deliver a hugely varied events programme throughout the year.”

Other Swansea Bay Moments campaigns have included a series of videos that focus on themes including food and drink, culture, shared experiences, amazing discoveries and outdoor adventures in Swansea Bay. Some of the video footage shows people’s reactions when they experience Swansea Bay moments – whether it’s visiting Gower, walking to their seat at the Liberty Stadium before a Premier League clash, or tasting cockles at Swansea Market.

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