Premier boost reaps rewards for Swansea City

Premier boost reaps rewards for Swansea City post by @visitswanseabay

If every Visit Swansea Bay Facebook fan flocked to the Liberty Stadium, there'd be nearly enough people to fill the ground.

liberty stadium

Latest figures show Visit Swansea Bay 'likes' on its Facebook page have broken the 16,000 mark – just over 4,000 short of the Liberty Stadium's total capacity.

It's largely because of the efforts of Swansea Council tourism staff to make the most of the Swans' Premier League status by raising the profile of Swansea Bay as a visitor destination across the world.

Some of the activities over the last 12 months or so have included stunning images of Swansea Bay in the UK 's footballing heartlands and online campaigns that have targeted fans' forums of other Premier League clubs.

Cllr Nick Bradley, Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: "It's been a terrific week or so for the Swans and Swansea Bay as a whole.

"The team has just beaten Liverpool at Anfield, drawn with the European champions at home and Visit Swansea Bay's Facebook page has broken the 16,000 'likes' mark. That's a fabulous achievement that shows we're making major inroads in our quest to ensureSwansea Bay as a whole benefits from lucrative Premier League status.

"Accommodation operators tell us they were very busy over the weekend and we know many Chelsea fans visited the area because all the away tickets for the Premier League clash were snapped-up."

Posters were put up at strategic locations in London in the countdown to the weekend's match against Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium.

The posters, which show Swansea Bay beauty spots, included the official Visit Swansea Bay website for visiting fans to peruse and discover the natural beauty and diverse attractions on offer here. These iconic views help potential visitors make the link between Swansea in the Premier League and Swansea Bay the destination.

Chelsea fans were also encouraged to stay for extra-time in Swansea by getting tickets for Graham Hunter at the Dylan Thomas Centre on Saturday evening. Hunter, a top football writer, talked about the Swans and Barcelona as part of Swansea Council's annual Dylan Thomas Festival.