Overseas students encouraged to discover Swansea Bay

Swansea Council’s tourism team has also recently been raising the global profile of the destination by talking to thousands of new students who have arrived in the city for the first time from all over the world.

The team was on hand at a number of Swansea University events to showcase the best of Swansea Bay to students from as far afield as Brazil, China, Russia, Greece and Spain.

Their visits came within weeks of New Zealand rugby superstars Richie McCaw and Dan Carter appearing in a photo with several teammates at Rhossili Bay.

A giant Swansea Bay picture frame was made available at the student events for them to have their photos in and then share on social media. Students have also been given until October 31 to submit a blog about their Swansea Bay experiences so far for the chance to win a canyoning adventure. This is in line with the Welsh Government’s 2016 ‘Year of Adventure’ marketing campaign promoting Wales as the world’s capital of adventure tourism.

The student events were part of the Showcase Swansea Bay project between Swansea Council and Tourism Swansea Bay that’s funded by the Welsh Government’s Regional Tourism Engagement Fund.

Students are also being encouraged to upload their selfies across the destination and share their Swansea Bay adventure using #SwanseaBayMoments on Twitter.

Cllr Robert Francis-Davies, Swansea Council’s Cabinet Member for Enterprise, Development and Regeneration, said: “The photos some of the All Blacks took in beauty spots like Rhossili were fantastic for Swansea Bay because they further raised the profile of how breathtakingly beautiful the area is to hundreds of thousands of rugby fans across the world. This was terrific free exposure that builds on everything we’re doing alongside our partners to boost a tourism industry that’s already worth more than £390 million to the local economy.

“Students arriving in Swansea from overseas for the very first time are an important market because their social media profiles give us the chance to put Swansea Bay on the map right across the world. The more they know about the local area as a whole, the more likely they’ll be to visit our attractions, spend in our businesses, take photos and write positive comments on websites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter that can potentially reach millions of people.

“A destination management plan we now have in place means we’re working harder than ever alongside other tourism organisations and tourism businesses to improve the tourism experience here and reach out to new audiences. We’re looking forward to the blogs our new students put together by the end of the month because it’ll be fascinating to find out what’s impressed them the most about Swansea Bay so far.”

Millions of visitors to some of the UK’s busiest shopping centres and transport hubs will also soon be seeing digital video adverts encouraging them to visit Swansea Bay.

Swansea Council’s campaign will see the videos appearing in locations including London Paddington, the London Underground, London Victoria, Manchester Piccadilly and Liverpool Central over coming weeks and months.

The video adverts will also be shown in a number of high-profile shopping malls, including the Trafford Centre in Manchester, Liverpool One and the Birmingham Bullring.

The outdoor advertising accompanies four new Swansea Bay Moments videos that have been uploaded to social media websites to encourage empty nesters, couples, families and thrill-seekers to visit this autumn. The videos feature Gower’s beaches, Mumbles and some of rural Swansea’s highlights, including Penllergaer Valley Woods. Surfing and sea kayaking are some of the many activities also featured.