South Pembrokeshire has enjoyed a bumper Easter Bank Holiday.
Seen as the traditional launch-pad for the tourist season, thousands of people took advantage of the long weekend and flocked to popular seaside resorts and attractions, leaving tourism operators optimistic for a busy summer ahead.
'No vacancy' signs were displayed outside hotels and guest houses, queues of traffic formed at car parks, tills rang in shops, ice cream vans were out in force on the sands, entertainers took to the streets as local businesses and hospitality providers reported a busy four-day spell.
The largest sporting event of the year, the traditional Easter Monday Point to Point races at Lydstep, also pulled in an all-time record crowd.
While the weather was not the best on record, Tenby basked in 5.7 hours of sunshine on Friday and 5.4 hours on Monday, when weather recorder Mrs. Trish Putwain also recorded a temperature of 61 degrees.
Figures from the town's Tourist Information Centre between Good Friday and Easter Monday inclusive showed that 1,550 visitors, including 34 from overseas, had passed through the doors. This was slightly down on last year, when the facility welcomed 1,649 visitors, including 23 from overseas.
Staying in Tenby, president of the town's Chamber for Trade and Tourism, Mr. Howard Lewis, reported a busy weekend.
"The weather beat the weather forecasted, which is always a good sign, and there were a lot of happy customers about," he told the Observer.
Crowds also flocked to neighbouring Saundersfoot, where chairman of the village's Chamber for Tourism, Mr. Andrew Evans, said members had done "exceptionally well."
"The gloomy weather that was forecast failed to materialise and people came down in their droves," he commented.
It was also an upbeat story from Mr. Bobby King, chairman of the Pembrokeshire Hotels and Restaurants Association.
"Everywhere was packed," he said.
"The weather was good and everywhere seemed full. There were people knocking on doors looking for accommodation, even though there were 'no vacancy' signs outside."
Elsewhere, the county's popular tourist attractions reported a bumper weekend, with Heatherton Country Sports Park and nearby Manor House Wildlife Park both enjoying their busiest ever Easters.
It was a similar story at Folly Farm, where a record number of visitors passed through the gates.
"It has been absolutely fantastic," said Chris Ebsworth.
"We were amazingly busy, especially on Monday," he continued.
"The Easter weekend is usually a telltale sign of what to expect for the summer season, so hopefully this is a good sign of what we can expect."
Narberth's Heron's Brook was also "very busy," while Oakwood Park pulled in large numbers of visitors keen to 'fill up on fun'.
"Sunday and Monday were our busiest days," said marketing manager, Zoe Snell, who revealed the Park was 47 per cent up on visitor numbers on Monday, compared to the same day last year.
Several hundred visitors also poured into Carew Castle and the nearby Mill.
The popular attractions, run by the National Park Authority, reported a very busy Easter and new events at Carew Castle, as part of the authority's activities and events programme, were also well supported.
"The 'art for nature' events last week and this Wednesday were very successful and the 'costume tour' on Tuesday was fully booked," said a Park spokesman.
"Throughout South Pembrokeshire, National Park car parks were very busy and many people took advantage of the fine weekend weather to go walking on the coast path and inland routes," he added.
All in all, the weekend proved a successful start to the season, and no doubt everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that it will continue for the rest of the season.