Summer heatwave starts with Carmarthenshire BBQ week 2012

Attract some of Carmarthenshire’s 186,000 residents and three million visitors by taking part in Carmarthenshire’s first ever BBQ Week. Running throughout June’s Whitsun Half Term holiday and taking in the 2 bank holiday days for The Queens Jubilee, this promotion will launch the key summer tourism period. Aim is to increase visitor experience in our key school holiday period for both visitors and residents. There is a huge Promotional Campaign in place financed by the County Council including monthly newsletters, 3,000 x 30second radio adverts booked for Radio Carmarthenshire, Scarlet FM, Radio Pembrokeshire, Radio Ceredigion & Swansea Bay Radio, 70,000 promotional supplements printed in local newspapers, Roadside banners and specialist public relations support. Want to get involved? To receive a pack with further information contact the County Council’s Marketing & Tourism section (Marketing@carmarthenshire.gov.uk / 01267 231 557) www.discovercarmarthenshire.com

Opportunity to let 2.5 million people into your business this June

A travel journalist with one of the top selling daily newspapers in the UK has been fixed up for a trip to Carmarthenshire by the County Council and we are looking for an accommodation provider to host them. The 2 journalists from the 2.5million per day selling Daily Mirror have agreed to write a short break story on the new Carmarthenshire food trail and an accommodation provider for the newspaper. They are visiting from 22nd – 25th June 2012, need two rooms in either a self catering or serviced accommodation. If you want to be part of this promotion, email Sarah Owen on marketing@carmarthenshire.gov.uk The marketing & tourism section of the County Council has funded specialist tourism public relations support for over two years as it provides our businesses with a promotional channel to get access to the key English market by either supplying latest offers or new products. www.discovercarmarthenshire.com

Llanelli Festival of Walks 2012: 1st - 4th June

There has never been a better time to dust off the walking boots to enjoy coastal Carmarthenshire with the all-Wales Coastal path launched on the 5th May and loads of walks in this year’s Llanelli Festival of Walks in June. Why not email previous visitors to see if they fancy a visit to the County in June to take in some of these walks Contact the marketing & tourism section of the County Council if you need more details or images - or go to www.discovercarmarthenshire.com.

Daily Mail online visits Newcastle Emlyn & Llandeilo for tourism story

We can't mention the two accomodation providers but this month the County Council has arranged for a journalist from the "Mail Online" to come and stay in Carmarthenshire with two of our fantastic accomodation providers agreeing to host them. The online versionm of the Daily Mail newspaper is the second largest English-language news website in the world, after the New York Times site, and has approx 80 million unique browsers a month. So a pretty huge reach and one we are delighted to tell all about discovering Carmarthenshire in South West Wales. If you have any special offers, new products or packages for May and especially the first week in June (which is the school half term / jubilee) and you want to tell the world through the County Council's tourism public relations serice, please email marketing@carmarthenshire.gov.uk www.discovercarmarthenshire.com

Discover Carmarthenshire becomes official visitor partner to the Laugharne weekender

Maybe not a blindly obvious relationship at first but a fusion of thoughts has led to Carmarthenshire County Council becoming the official visitor partner to the cool and edgy Laugharne Weekender event held every April in the south west corner of Carmarthenshire. Now in its sixth year, the Laugharne Weekender has become a magnet for UK festival-goers looking to find themselves rubbing shoulders with literati and musical legends at this edgy weekend of the arts in the village made famous by Dylan Thomas. The three-day event is held throughout numerous location in Laugharne and the 2012 “Weekender” line-up includes a talk from Deke Leonard, poetry by Simon Armitage and music from Cerys Matthews, star of best selling group, Catatonia. As well as providing accommodation lists and a booking service for visitors through the tourist information centre in old Castle House in Carmarthen, Carmarthenshire County Council’s marketing & tourism section will also provide specialist public relations support to ensure full UK wide media coverage and journalist visits as well commissioning a promotional multi-media “video” that will capture the ambiance and activities of the Weekender and the town itself. For a full event line-up, click on the whats on page of www.discovercarmarthenshire.com

Capital Radio Carmarthenshire tourism summer sponsorship announced

Weekends from 1st April 2012 will hear one of the UK's most successful radio broadcasters Capital FM Wales shouting out that Carmarthenshire is the place this summer for a weekend stay or a day visit. Carmarthenshire County Council Marketing & Tourism section have agreed to be the radio station's weekend radio partner so as residents of Cardiff, Newport and the South East wake up to think how to spend their weekend, they think of Carmarthenshire. Carmarthenshire is already one of Wales' largest tourism areas with over three million visitors but the largest County in southern wales wants to ensure that all residents are aware of the coast, countryside and town holidays ready and waiting for them. With 18 "slots" each and every weekend until the end of September, Carmarthenshire will be able to promote a huge amount if its "staycation" experiences as well as the official website for Carmarthenshire, www.discovercarmarthenshire.com