The beauty and appeal of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park has helped National Park Authority marketers scoop a top award.

A retro-style poster campaign featuring nostalgic images of the Park impressed judges at The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)'s Canmol: Wales Marketing Awards last Wednesday.

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority which ran the campaign, picked up the first prize in the category Tourism, hotels, leisure, place and destination marketing, travel and transport.

The poster campaign celebrated 60 years of the National Park, with six images displayed at train stations between Swansea and London Paddington in 2012, as well as key Olympic and Paralympic sites and tube stations.

Marie Edwards, the authority's communications and marketing manager, said: "Winning a Canmol: Wales Marketing Award is a fantastic achievement for us, and a testament to the marketing team's determination and hard work.

"The response to our retro advertising campaign has been phenomenal; from the moment it launched people began contacting us to ask where they could find replicas of the posters. We're really proud of our campaign and ecstatic to be a Canmol award-winning team.

"The campaign was a success, not just for the authority, but for Pembrokeshire as a whole. The posters played a part in raising visitor numbers to the National Park during the campaign period, as well contributing to this year's 14 per cent increase in walkers using the Pembrokeshire Coast Path.

Richard Houdmont, the CIM's director for Wales, said: "Canmol is a celebration of excellent business results achieved through innovative, creative and professional marketing, and I'd like to offer huge congratulations to all of this year's winners."

National Park Authority chairman Clr. Mike James added: "Our retro-style posters, drawn by illustrator Gary Redford, really captured the spirit and feel of the National Park, as well as capturing the public's imagination, with people calling from across the UK to buy copies, having seen them advertised at railway stations.

"We even received a request for a set of posters from a serving British Army officer having seen them advertised on the London Underground, to go on display at the UK's military base in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to inspire the troops and remind them of home.

"It's hugely touching to think that our campaign has had such a positive impact and that our National Park posters are now being viewed around the world."

The Park Authority's poster campaign was also a Chartered Institute of Marketing Excellence Awards UK finalist in 2012.

The A2 sized posters are available to buy from National Park Visitor Centres in Tenby, Newport and Oriel y Parc in St. Davids.

Or you can order by phone on 01834 845040 or email [email protected]">[email protected].