Celebrity endorsement for Swansea Bay on social media

Celebrities flocked to social media over the Easter break to sing Swansea Bay’s praises. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Fashion designer David Emmanuel, cricket legend Sir Ian Botham and Swans star Gylfi Sigurdsson were among those who shared their love for the area on Twitter and Instagram. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Emmanuel, who designed Princess Diana’s wedding dress, Tweeted a photo of Oxwich Bay on Gower in the sunshine, while Botham, one of the most famous English cricketers of all-time, Tweeted a photo of him and his grandson enjoying a Joe’s ice cream on the promenade. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Sigurdsson, the Swans top Premier League scorer this season, uploaded a photo on his Instagram account of him playing golf at Langland Bay. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Their social media posts were together viewed, shared and liked thousands of times. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Steve Hopkins, Swansea Council’s Tourism and Marketing Manager, said: “These celebrity endorsements fall in nicely with our Swansea Bay Adventures campaign on social media, with all three enjoying either a food, a golf or a beach adventure. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“Generally speaking, Swansea Bay as a destination enjoys a good year if we have a good start to the year, starting with a positive Easter, so the impact of these social media shares will certainly help because they raise Swansea’s online profile as a visitor destination around the world. They follow on from other celebrity endorsements in recent times, including All Black star Dan Carter’s photo of himself and several of his New Zealand teammates at Rhossili Bay during the Rugby World Cup. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

“We’re also encouraging visitors and residents to share their own striking images with us, using #SwanseaBayAdventures on Visit Swansea Bay’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Our activity forms part of the Visit Wales Year of Adventure for 2016.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Statistics show activity on www.visitswanseabay.com from January to the end of March is up 35% from the same period last year. The website has enjoyed a great start to 2016, with more than 411,000 page views and 107,000 sessions in three months. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Last year, the official destination website attracted over 1.9 million page views, helping build Visit Swansea Bay’s Facebook and Twitter following to almost 60,000 – one of the most popular of its kind in Wales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The figures come as Swansea Council takes a more cost-effective, online approach to the provision of information for visitors. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​