THE value of tourism in Carmarthenshire has increased again and is now worth a staggering £370million to the local economy.

Carmarthenshire County Council has just received its annual figures from STEAM – the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor – which provides an official trend map of tourism throughout the UK and gives a clear picture of the money being spent locally by visitors.

They have revealed that the value of tourism, the impact it has on the local economy, went up by 2.7 per cent in 2016 compared to the previous year.

The number of visitors staying in our hotels, bed and breakfasts, self-catering and tourism caravan sites also rose by 3.6 per cent in 2016 contributing £260million, and those who visited and stayed with friends or family contributed over £40million during the year.

Day visit numbers were down by 1.3 per cent on 2015, thought to be largely due to poor weather during the school summer holidays, but still contributed £68million to the economy.

The figures also confirm good news on the job front, showing that tourism supports 5,638 full time jobs, an increase of 2.3 per cent.

Cllr Peter Hughes Griffiths, Executive Board Member for Sport, Culture and Tourism, said: “These are fantastic figures which continue to show year on year growth in our tourism economy – more than doubling the 1999 economic value of £141million.

“Carmarthenshire is holding its own in a hugely competitive and diverse tourism market, which shows that we are offering something very special to our visitors.

“We are fortunate to have a stunning mix of coast and countryside, a rich culture and heritage, and a variety of family-friendly attractions.

“We are bringing in visitors in their thousands, and they are clearly helping spread the word about our special county.

“Of course that means that local people are benefitting from more jobs, and businesses in the tourism sector are thriving. It’s wonderful news.”