Milford Haven traders look forward to welcoming the tourists

It’s no secret that west Wales is not the most popular destination during winter and autumn.

In wet and windy conditions, many businesses in Pembrokeshire struggle to make enough money.

But as the temperature and amount of sunlight increases, so does the number of potential customers, especially near the Milford Marina and Ty Hotel.

The Ty Hotel has brought more tourists to Milford Haven. (Image: The Celtic Collection)

And for some establishments, the benefits of tourism have already come during spring.

Owner of Scotts Sweet Shop, Scott Davis said: “This has been the busiest Easter we’ve had, and we are in the process of restocking. Over the last five and a half years it’s got busier. We get more business with tourists than the locals.”

Yet several await the months of June, July, August, and September when these businesses thrive instead of just surviving.

Owner of The Cheesy Cow, Georgie Neale said: “It will do us good, especially with the hotel there. It’s good to have a bit of a footfall. We can struggle in the winter because we’re only a takeaway. We don’t have any sit-down area. Sunshine and the tourists are much better for us. So, yeah, looking forward to it. Summer’s always our busiest time.”

Employee at Akamuti, Laura Leongomez, said: “It’s what affects us the most. Like the lack of tourism and its presence in the summer. But also, local tourism and just the weather in general.

“The winter is quite dead and as soon as the sun starts coming out everyone comes back. The tourists, the locals. The tourists that come here are mainly British, lots of people from England. Some foreigners, but I would say it’s more local tourism.”

The Milford waterfront is another big tourist attraction in the town. (Image: Newsquest)Volunteer at Milford Haven Museum, George Springer said: “Tourism should have a positive effect, especially during the summer holidays when schools are on holiday.”

Owner of Image By Vanessa, Vanessa Hackett, said: “Americans have been coming in. We had quite a few Americans visit last year.”

Owner of Pure Art, Rob Howard said: “Majority of our shop sales and gallery sales come from tourism. Other times of the year we rely on online purchases. However, we don’t get as many tourists as when there were cruise ships. We used to get repeat purchases. Leaving the EU has affected our sales.”

The Milford Marina was built more than 30 years ago and now has over 300 berths.

Meanwhile, the Ty Hotel opened in April 2022 and has contributed to the number of tourists who visit the marina and therefore, shop in the local businesses.