Tourism in Mid Wales is booming with online accommodation bookings for the first four months of this year double what they were in 2010.

And bookings received by members of Mid Wales Tourism online until the end of April this year reached £250,000, twice the amount that was taken this time last year.

Val Hawkins, chief executive of the Machynlleth-based organisation, which represents about 600 tourism and hospitality businesses in Powys, Ceredigion and Meirionnydd, revealed that £250,000 of bookings were received through Guestlink booking channels by members up until the end of April.

Mrs Hawkins said customers were increasingly using the internet to book their holidays, which has lead to the boost in trade.

She said: “It is clear that tourism businesses that do not have a web presence are missing out.

“The boost in bookings is down to a couple of things: more of our members are showing room availability on their websites and more visitors are booking online.

“To maximise their potential, businesses really need to be utilising all the online marketing benefits available to them.

“We understand the needs of small tourism businesses and can help them to improve their online presence.”

Mrs Hawkins said she was urging accommodation providers who had not already signed up to the web service to do so.

She said more people were now leaning towards last minute bookings.

“More people are now also seeking destination information through the internet before they visit Mid Wales,” she said.

Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies said he was incredibly pleased to see tourism in Mid Wales doing well despite the difficult economic climate.

“It is very encouraging news and I hope it is a sign of things to come,” he said.

“Tourism is one of Mid Wales’s main attractions and a lot of businesses rely on visitors coming into the area. We live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.”

By Andrew Morris