Research, trends & development

In 2022, 3.46million visitors came to Carmarthenshire, generating £596.51million for the local economy. Over 7.19 million tourist days were spent in the County with 1.17million people staying in one of the 1,250+ establishments. 6,652 people are employed in the sector. The changes for 2011 - 2022 (%) are as follows:

• Economic impact: +66% (£358.89million to £596.5million in 2022)
• Visitor numbers: +14.6% 

The increase in visitor yield was driven by strong performance in the staying visitor sector especially serviced. Since 2011, the annual number of staying visitors to Carmarthenshire here has increased by 23.3%, contributing a further £74.16 million to the economy in 2022. Non serviced is still the largest provider of accommodation rising in economic impact by 71.6% since 2011 with a value in 2022 of £383 million. Our tourism performance is measured using STEAM (Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor). 

Who are our visitors?

• Affluent 'Empty Nesters' aged 55+ years
• Average number of people in each visiting party is 4.4
• Mid-income families with older children
• 97% said they were likely to return in future
• 98% said they would recommend it as a place to visit
• Large % came from other areas of Wales as well as Midlands, South East, USA, and Ireland

If you would like a copy of the full STEAM Economic Impact report, the Visitor survey 2021 or other additional information to support you, please contact us.