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.

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.