The next committee meeting will take place on Tuesday14th September at the Gower Holiday Village.  As always we extend a warm welcome to all our members and invite you to attend the open meeting, which begins at 12 noon.  If you require directions please call Beth in the office, she will be happy to help you.  Remember that these meetings give you the chance to meet other members, satisfy your curiosity by having a look inside other tourism businesses(!) and voice your own opinion and concerns.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Active Hotels, a web based company are offering our members an on-line booking facility through the Tourism Swansea website.  Discussions are still in the early stages but if a partnership is agreed then this looks to be a fabulous new benefit that will be available to all new and existing members.

Meanwhile we have placed a link to their site on our Homepage - we would like to hear initial reactions from members.  We see it as a facility which will allow visitors to the site to book hotels in the area instantly

Members already utilising this on-line booking are - THE WHITE HOUSE HOTEL, RAMADA ENCORE and RAMADA JARVIS.  On-line bookings can be made through the microsites or from the general introduction page.  So, please have a look at the website to see how the system works.

Haven’t got a computer, scared to press the button? If the thought of internet puts you into a panic then e-Try could be just the thing to overcome your fears.

Tourism Swansea has developed e-TRY with local computer specialists Swan CD and the Swansea IT Centre.

The first stage is that Beth will come along with an internet ready computer – all you need is a phone point and power circuit – plug in and show you how to send and receive e-mails and to surf the net.

You can keep the computer for a couple of weeks during which time Beth will provide back up assistance. If you feel comfortable then we get a consultant from the Swansea IT Centre to come along and advise you what you need next. It might be the computer that you have is all you need and you can just buy it and off you go. If not we just take the computer back and it’s cost you nothing but a few telephone calls.

Hopefully this will simplify that initial step which for everyone – if they are honest – is a huge leap into the unknown.

For Tourism Swansea it’s another service to our existing and potential members.

If you are interested contact Beth by telephone (01792 403333), in person at the office or by pigeon post!

Some time ago members received information on a special discount being run for the “B and B Success” package by Totem Tourism Marketing.  For a very reasonable price members could purchase a copy of the book as well as a compendium of published newsletters composed by the company.

The book not only covers issues related to Bed and Breakfasts but many of the areas covered within the book and newsletters could easily be applied to guesthouses and the smaller hotel.  We are going to be including a small helpful hints section from now on in each newsletter, based on the content of “B and B Success” so look out for it!

If you want to have more details about the book or special offer package, e-mail Beth in the office or give her a ring 01792 403333.

Handy Hint for August
Lets start with a simple one – build a business customer database!  This works well with the business travellers/customers but also equally with leisure travellers/customers because more than likely they have a job, work for a company and have colleagues who may be interested in the same types of things as they are.

So, get a nice big box, cut a letter hole in it and cover the box in attractive paper or something in keeping with your décor.  Put the “Business Card Box” in a prominent place and make a sign explaining what it is for.

Each month make a prize draw from the collected business cards – the prize could be anything from a box of chocolates to a free weekend break at your establishment.  Send them a postcard with your latest offer to say either “well done, you’ve won” or “sorry you have lost but here’s a way to console yourself”

The point here is not the prize, it’s the database which is building inside the box and the contact which you can now have with your previous customers.  It’s even more valuable than building a database from a list of companies as these are actually people who have stayed in your guesthouse/bed and breakfast/hotel so they know you and how good you are.

Give it a go and let us know how you get on with building your business database!

September is looking to be a busy and varied month in terms of events and activities.  Just take a look below for a selection of entertainment:

An exciting event is taking place in the Mumbles on Sunday 19th September.  The White Rose will be playing host to the BBC's Pub Quiz Road Show.  This looks to be an extremely popular one and if you fancy going along to take part or merely spectate then tickets are available by calling the BBC ticket line on 08700 131 812.

If it’s family fun you are after now that school term has started again, the Gower Heritage Centre are having a family evening on 17th September at 6.30pm.  The visiting magician and the resident ventriloquist will entertain children all night with fun and laughter guaranteed.

Perhaps one of the biggest events of September is the Wales Rally GB, which takes place from 16th to 19th of the month.  The Swansea Rally Centre at Felindre will be the focal point for all of the teams and its definitely an event not to be missed.  Advanced bookings can be made via the ticket hotline 0870 060 1764.

Once again, it’s good news for the Tourism Swansea website and each of your micro sites.  Visitor numbers have once more increased – we are now reaching figures of almost 4,400 visits for the month of August.  As in previous months half of these visitors come from out with the UK so your microsite has the potential to be viewed by approximately 2,200 international visitors each month.

On average there have been 140 visitors per day to the Tourism Swansea website and the most frequently visited pages for the month of August are as follows:

Top Ten Pages
1. Special Offers
2. Pitton Cross Caravan and Camping
3. Barlands Cottage
4. The Shieling
5. Nicholaston Farm
6. The White House Hotel
7. Bayswater
8. Beachcomber
9. Mumbles Hill House
10. Alexander Hotel

As you can see the most popular page on the website is the “Special Offers” so please don’t forget to use this page to advertise any special offer you may have running or wish to run.  This page is for our members to make use of so please keep us up dated of promotions you may be running.  Call Beth in the office with details, 01792 403333.

The Tourism Swansea office is very busy at this time of year and Beth has asked to remind members of a few things.  Firstly, if you want to advertise your business, a special offer or special event you can do so by making use of the advertising column down the right hand side of the newsletter.  For only £10.00 over three hundred people in and outwith the area will see your advert - its so cost effective.  Call Beth just now if you wish to appear in next months newsletter.

Also, Beth is at the moment trying to arrange the Tourism Swansea Meeting Schedule for the coming months.  Hosting a meeting is a great way for people to see your business - think how powerful word of mouth and personal recommendations are! 

All that you need is a room big enough to hold 30 people approx and provide a small buffet lunch of, for example, sausage rolls and sandwiches.  Eddy's at Hillend Caravan Park in Llangennith have already signed up for a repeat of their last year meeting date.

If you are able to be a host then please let Beth know.  Call her in the office to discuss what months are available, 01792 403333.  Thank-you!