News
Steady growth for tourism industry
NEWLY-RELEASED figures show the tourism industry in Pembrokeshire has experienced steady growth over the last seven years – and that visitors to the County are spending significantly more than they used to.
The total amount spent by visitors in local businesses topped a whopping £585 million last year, up from £502 million in 2009. That’s an increase of 16.5%.
Most of the additional spend on accommodation is in the serviced accommodation sector – hotels, guesthouses, inns and B&Bs. The number of staying visitors has remained fairly stable at 4.3 million but they are spending more.
Visitors who come to Pembrokeshire for the day but don’t stay overnight remain at about 10% of the total number of visitors.
Spending on food and drink has grown from £95 million in 2009 to £111 million in 2015. It has slowly overtaken spending on holiday accommodation in the last 10 years, which totalled £106 million last year. However, the accommodation sector still employs more than twice as many people.
The figures are from tourism data produced annually for local authorities in Wales known as STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Activity Monitor).
Alan Turner, Tourism Marketing and Development Manager at Pembrokeshire County Council, said “It’s great to see tourism in Pembrokeshire continuing to prosper in an increasingly competitive and worldwide marketplace.
“The hard work of the Destination Pembrokeshire Partners will have played a significant role in generating this growth. The partnership includes the Pembrokeshire County Council’s tourism team, Pembrokeshire Tourism, PLANED and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
“Our own marketing activity has been performing particularly well with the number of people accessing the Visit Pembrokeshire website topping 750,000 this year with three months still to go. PR activity and social media reach has also been extremely good.”
The positive trend appears to be continuing this year, with a combination of better weather and the uncertainty of Brexit encouraging visitors to ‘staycation’ in Wales. One prominent hotelier in Pembrokeshire even said it was ‘the best year the hotel has ever experienced’.
This optimism seems to be backed up by the Wales Tourism Business Barometer survey carried out by the Welsh Government during the summer. It suggested that the tourism industry in Wales has enjoyed a busy summer with ‘increased visitor levels across all industry sectors and regions of Wales’ and operators ‘fairly confident for the rest of the year’.
Keith Lewis, Cabinet Member at Pembrokeshire County Council responsible for Tourism, said “These results show that the tourism industry is working hard to provide the type and quality of service that modern visitors are looking for.”
Charge relates to incident in the town last weekend
A PEMBROKE DOCK man has been sent to the Crown Court for trial after appearing before magistrates accused of assault causing actual bodily harm.
Darren Markes, aged 47, of High Street, Pembroke Dock, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Dec 15).
The court heard that Markes is charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm, contrary to the Offences Against the Person Act.
The charge relates to an alleged incident on Friday (Dec 13) in Pembroke Dock, when it is alleged that Markes assaulted a woman, causing her actual bodily harm.
No plea was entered at the hearing.
Due to the seriousness of the allegation, magistrates declined jurisdiction and ordered that the case be sent to the Crown Court for trial under the Crime and Disorder Act.
Markes was remanded on conditional bail. Conditions include:
- Not contacting a witness, directly or indirectly
- Reporting to Pembroke Dock police station every Wednesday between 12:00pm and 2:00pm
- Living and sleeping each night at his home address
He is due to appear at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday (Jan 16) at 9:30am for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
Alleged incident said to have taken place on Bridge Street
AN ABERYSTWYTH man has denied a charge of criminal damage relating to an alleged incident in Cardigan.
Ricky Myers, aged 27, of Jasper House, Aberystwyth, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Dec 15).
The court heard that Myers is accused of criminal damage to property valued under £5,000, contrary to the Criminal Damage Act 1971.
The charge relates to an incident on Saturday (Aug 24, 2024) at Manchester House on Bridge Street, Cardigan, where it is alleged that a window at the Cardigan Gallery was damaged. The property is said to belong to Peter Austin.
Myers pleaded not guilty to the allegation.
Magistrates adjourned the case for further case management, and Myers was remanded on conditional bail, with a condition that he live and sleep each night at his home address.
He is due to return to court at Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (Dec 17) at 2:00pm.
Harassment charge and three assaults among cases listed for Llanelli court
A PEMBROKE DOCK man has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing after admitting a series of offences, including harassment and assaults.
Tony Brundrett, aged 21, of Kavanagh Court, Pembroke Dock, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Dec 15).
The court heard Brundrett has pleaded guilty to harassment without violence, contrary to the Protection from Harassment Act. The charge alleges that between Tuesday (Sep 17) and Thursday (Oct 31) at Spring View, Pembroke Dock, he pursued a course of conduct amounting to harassment of a female, including attending her home address and contacting her by text message.
He has also admitted assault by beating against the same female, alleged to have taken place on Wednesday (May 21) at Spring View, Pembroke Dock, and a further assault by beating against a second female on Thursday (Oct 30), also at Spring View.
Magistrates were additionally told that Brundrett faces a further allegation of common assault against a third female, said to have occurred on Tuesday (Dec 9) at Kavanagh Court, Pembroke Dock. No plea was recorded to that matter in the register entry.
Brundrett has also pleaded guilty to a number of offences linked to an incident in Haverfordwest on Saturday (Nov 16). These include:
- Aggravated vehicle taking, involving a Vauxhall Corsa, with damage caused before recovery
- Using a motor vehicle without insurance
- Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence
- Criminal damage, involving a window belonging to Pembrokeshire County Council
He was remanded in custody, with the next hearing listed at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (Dec 31) at 10:00am.
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Ryan Dansie
October 10, 2016 at 12:37 pm
According to the Bank of England inflation calculator £502 million in 2009 would be worth £607 million in 2015. Still not bad a slight decrease in real terms?
annabella mathis
October 8, 2025 at 2:22 pm
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