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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Swap the busy tubes of London for the peaceful tubes on Gower, Visit Swansea Bay

Swap the busy tubes of London for the peaceful tubes on Gower, Visit Swansea Bay

MILLIONS of tube travellers in London will soon be encouraged to take a break from the Big Smoke and visit Swansea Bay.
image depicting Tube rider
Swansea Council has arranged for eye-catching posters of Swansea Bay to be put on London Underground tubes from the start of the New Year.
The posters show an image of a surfer off the Gower coast and encourage London Underground users to ride a different kind of tube for a change.
A thousand of the posters will be placed on tube trains throughout January in the build-up to the Arsenal and Chelsea games against the Swans at the Liberty Stadium in the Barclays Premier League.
Promotional shots of Three Cliffs Bay are also being strategically placed at London Paddington's Underground Station as the Swans prepare for home clashes against Queen's Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur before the end of December.
All four of the Swans next home games in the Premier League are against London-based opposition. This is why Swansea Council has put together a new infographic that will target supporters and famous fans of clubs like Spurs and the media local to each team.
It's based on the theme of a chocolate selection box that millions of people across the UK will receive as gifts over the Christmas and New Year period. Some of the chocolates represent things people can do in the Swansea Bay area such as walking off the festive excess at one of Gower's award-winning beaches or heading to Mumbles to bag a designer bargain.
Anyone who clicks on the infographic will then be redirected to the official http://www.visitswanseabay.com destination website.
A dedicated fans corner with key information about Swansea Bay has also been made available on the site for Premier League supporters to peruse.
Cllr Graham Thomas, Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, said: "We're working on a number of imaginative marketing campaigns to make the most of the opportunities Premier League status brings.
"The next four home games for the Swans at the Liberty Stadium come against London teams and this is why we're promoting Swansea Bay as a destination in places like the tube trains and the Paddington Underground Station that millions of people use every day.
"London and the South East are important visitor markets for Wales, so it's important to build on the awareness the Swans have created.
"We're also staying on top of social media as a way of promoting Swansea Bay to millions of other people and feedback shows our campaigns are generating a lot of interest in the area. Our Facebook campaigns have led to more 5,000 click-throughs to the destination website since the Premier League season kicked-off in August.
"I'd urge Swansea people to again give a traditionally warm 'Croeso' welcome to fans of the London-based teams who will all be playing at the Liberty Stadium before the end of January."
Have a look at http://www.visitswanseabay.com for more information.

Swansea coastline part of world's best region to visit

Swansea coastline part of world's best region to visit

The Lonely Planet recently put Coastal Wales ahead of parts of Central America, Italy and India in a top ten of places to visit next year.

image depicting Walking in Oxwich Bay, Gower
Walking in Oxwich Bay, Gower
The All Wales Coast Path, which includes a 55-mile stretch around Swansea Bay and Gower, will be the first coast path in the world to run the entire length of a nation and is set to be officially opened in May 2012.
Swansea Council is continuing its work to complete the Coast Path from Mumbles in the South to Crofty in the north via Three Cliffs BayPort EynonRhossili and Llanmadoc.
The Council is working with a wide range of partners to complete the path and is currently working on improvements to the path between Caswell and Limeslade.
Tourism chiefs in the city are confident the creation of the continuous path will encourage even more visitors to Swansea.
Steve Hopkins, Tourism Manager in Swansea Council, said: "Once the new sections of path are open we can showcase our beautiful coastline to both seasoned ramblers who will walk the entire path and walkers out for a Sunday stroll.
"Walking is already one of our most popular activities with visitors and the opening of the All Wales Coast Path will raise the profile of walking in this area even further. It will enhance Swansea Bay's reputation as a walking destination."
Tony McGetrick, Chairman of Tourism Swansea Bay, said: "A lot of the work to develop and create this path has been ongoing for a number of years and when it's finished I think we'll be well-placed to offer a fantastic attraction to people around the world.
"We've got a really diverse offering of attractions in Swansea which makes us quite unique.
"And local businesses such as accommodation providers are now developing and offering packages to visitors that can really make their stay much more worthwhile. By next year I think we will be able to offer something quite superb."
The All Wales Coastal Path is funded by Swansea Council, EU Convergence funding and the Welsh Government.
Partners helping Swansea Council in developing the path in Swansea include the National Trust, the Countryside Council for Wales, the Wildlife Trust, the Gower Society and Swansea Ramblers.
Cllr Gareth Sullivan, Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration and Planning, said: "A lot of work has been completed with our Countryside Access Team who have been working with a variety of partners to improve and create sections of path.
"Some of the pathway will travel along private land and this has been achieved with support from private landowners."