Swansea City’s Scandinavian profile could soon be further raised because of the club’s draw in the Europa League.
The Swans, already hugely popular in Denmark because of manager Michael Laudrup, could face Swedish team, Malmo, in the third round of the competition.
Malmo beat Scotland’s Hibernian 2-0 in the second qualifying first leg and are now hot favourites to face the Swans at the Liberty Stadium on August 1.
Swansea Council’s tourism team will be using social media to try to encourage fans to not only visit Swansea Bay for 90 minutes of football, but also to stay for extra time in the destination too.
Cllr Nick Bradley, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, said: “The Swans have done a fantastic job in putting Swansea Bay on the map. Their Premier League status has raised Swansea’s profile across the world and means many thousands of people have visited Swansea Bay for the very first time, spending their money in local shops, hotels, restaurants, pubs and other businesses.
“Europa League football will give the Swans and Swansea Bay even more exposure. The Swans are already regular headline-makers in Scandinavia because of manager Michael Laudrup’s popularity in his native Denmark, but playing Malmo will introduce many thousands of Swedish people to Swansea Bay for the very first time. We’ll be doing all we can to make the most of this and promote Swansea Bay on social media.
“Hibernians also enjoy a huge following in Edinburgh and the lucrative Europa League is watched by millions of people across the planet. If they come from behind to beat Malmo, it’s still a great opportunity to market Swansea Bay to another part of the UK where the Swans don’t play any of their Premier League football.”
Figures show Premier League football and focussed marketing activities helped generate more than a million page views on the official Visit Swansea Bay website in 2012 – that’s over 2,700 page views a day.
Visit Swansea Bay’s Facebook fans grew by 246% in 2012 and Twitter followers rose by 96%.
Swansea Council also attracted 25 journalists to spend time in Swansea Bay during the 2012/2013 football season, helping generate thousands of positive column inches. This was more than double the amount of similar visits arranged during the 2011/2012 season.
Malmo reached the final of the European Cup in 1979, losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest.
