Figures from Swansea Council highlight the importance of the tourism industry to the prosperity of the area.

They show 3.9 million visitors chose Swansea Bay as their holiday destination last year - an 11 per cent increase from 2005.

Tourism leaders say the natural beauty of the area and a range of attractions are making their mark.

The National Waterfront Museum and Liberty Stadium are some of the factors behind the success and major events such as the National Eisteddfod and the new and hugely popular Waterfront Winterland have helped to boost day visitor figures by an unprecedented 17 per cent.

Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Culture, Recreation and Tourism, Cllr Gerald Clement, said: "These figures make for very encouraging reading and also show that tourism now supports 5,000 jobs in the area.

"Swansea's massive regeneration programme, coupled with the commitment made by a number of private sector tourism operators to developing their business and improving quality, creates a much more dynamic and positive visitor experience.

"Only by continuing to work closely with local tourism operators can we deliver this level of success."

"We're delighted to see that this is now bearing fruit and months that were traditionally classed as being the shoulder season are now much more buoyant.

"We have a number of new tourism operators in our area that are providing a year-round quality visitor experience and this further adds to our attractiveness as a tourism destination.

"The increase in the number of day visitor figures demonstrates the value of an exciting events programme and, with this coupled with existing businesses and the opening of an exciting new leisure facility early in 2008, will hopefully ensure a continued increase in visitor figures over the next few years."