With the Easter holidays fast approaching, First Minister Rhodri Morgan will be out and about in West Wales today (Friday) to see how tourism operators are gearing up for the forthcoming holiday season.

The First Minister, accompanied by Wales Tourist Board chairman Phillip Evans, will begin his day-long visit at the Stackpole Centre, near Bosherston Lily Ponds and Broad Haven Beach. Run by the National Trust, the centre offers accommodation and activities for people of all ages.

He will move on to Pembrokeshire's newest activity provider, Freshwater Adventure at Freshwater East which offers activities ranging from sailing to coasteering and climbing.

A visit to five-star Celtic Haven at Lydstep is next. There, the First Minister will view the results of a recent major refurbishment project to adapt its facilities for the business tourism market. New attractions at the village include a luxury marine health spa suite, a golf academy and conference facilities.

Mr. Morgan will then open Mwldan Creative Media Centre. As part of an ambitions £6.9m Theatr Mwldan Development Project in Cardigan, the centre offers a range of equipment and facilities and houses a number of media professionals working in a variety of disciplines within the media industry.

To end his visit, the Minister will launch a new quad biking centre at Llangoedmor, near Cardigan.

"The day's programme shows the staggering variety of activities and attractions Wales now has to offer visitors - not just spectacular coastal scenery and glorious beaches. It's wonderful to see the innovative and exciting activities and accommodation on offer to attract tourists from all over the world to Wales," said First Minister, Rhodri Morgan.

"Tourism plays an important role in the Welsh economy - it contributes around £2.5b to the economy on an annual basis and the industry employs around 10 per cent of the Welsh workforce," he said.