Despite the indifferent weather, businesses in Tenby and attractions around the county seemed to enjoy a successful Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend, with the rest of the half-term holiday week also proving busy. "Some of Tenby's recent concerns were allayed as the town filled up for the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend, and, despite wet weather, complemented by gale force winds on the Monday, visitor numbers held up as we went into the remainder of the half term week," commented Chris Osborne, of the town's Fourcroft Hotel and spokesperson for Tenby Chamber of Trade and Tourism. The unpredictable weather is something that most holidaymakers seem to accept these days, according to Matthew Evans, CEO at Coastal Cottages of Pembrokeshire, who believes that booking patterns are changing and it is becoming more competitive out there for marketing departments. "The weather argument has to be put to bed now for the accommodation sector. The old style 'wait until they come and hope the TIC sends bookings your way and if not complain to the local authority' has long gone," he explained. "Those that leave it to the guy upstairs to decide their fate with a bit of drizzle will always struggle; yes, the sun helps us all, but we are in the UK and not the Bahamas and we have to market like we are in the UK. "Operators have key dates in their diaries for over a year and those dates need to form the basis of marketing strategies and partnerships. Tourism has changed; it has become so much more competitive as there is fundamentally more quality product in the market than we have ever seen before. So we need to be slicker and fitter with our campaigns and as companies," he continued. Matthew believes that Pembrokeshire as a destination is seeing a lot of investment with jaw- dropping cottages being presented to the agency. "These properties are commanding upwards of circa £1,850 per week low season and they are getting it, because they are still offering value and that is what it is all about, what you deliver for the price that is paid. "Coastal Cottages experienced an excellent bank holiday, with regards to Tenby, it has so much to do in terms of activities and attractions and is working hard as a quality destination. "Ronni'z and Bar 10 have given us two wine bars in the last few months; property development has seen some quality products now come to fruition too," he added. Heatherton Activity Park has experienced another successful Whitsun holiday, with record numbers visiting the park on the Saturday and Tuesday, due to the combination of good weather and the extensive range of undercover activities on offer. "The visitor numbers did drop due to the poor weather conditions on the Sunday and Monday, but not as badly as first expected, due to the launch of the new 'Pembrokeshire Raceway' over the weekend, which is an indoor 'giant' eight-lane slot car track, that proved a very popular attraction with the Whitsun holiday visitors," said David Senn, Heatherton's marketing manager. The weather also failed to dampen Bank Holiday visits to Folly Farm, which saw record attendances over the weekend. "With so many undercover attractions, Folly Farm isn't really affected by the weather, rainy days just mean the fun fair, bottle-feeding shows and theatre performances are very busy," said PR and marketing manager Zoë Wright. At Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority's Castell Henllys Iron Age Fort, near Newport, Monday was a record day for takings. Supervisor Rhonwen Owen said: "We had nearly 500 people through the doors on Monday and we were amazed by the amount we took in the shop. Tuesday was also busy and if the rest of the week remains steady we will have had a really good half term." Monday was also the busiest day of the bank holiday weekend at Carew Castle, managed by the National Park Authority.
