Rising visitor numbers help leisure centres manage post-pandemic challenge

Freedom Leisure, Wales National Pool Swansea, Plantasia and the National Waterfront Museum all saw a much-needed return of custom after being financially supported through the Covid-19 crisis by Welsh Government and the council.

Visitor numbers to the city centre LC and its other community leisure facilities jumped by 84% to 1.42m in the months after re-opening doors to the public. Wales National Pool Swansea visitor numbers rose to 202,000.

Plantasia also saw attendance figures rise as it re-opened with new attractions, including the launch of a crocodile feeding experience and the birth of two Egyptian Tortoises - a critically-endangered species.

And while all the venues face challenges ahead, particularly with soaring energy bills and the need to continue to build visitor numbers, Robert Francis-Davies, Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism, said their continuing success was vital.

At its meeting on April 20, Swansea Council's Cabinet agreed its Leisure Partnerships Annual Report, looking at visitor numbers and financial performance for the period 2021/22 of organisations in the city to which the council provides financial and other support.

Cllr Francis-Davies said: "Throughout the pandemic, the council was there for our leisure services partners because they play a critical part in the life of our city and our local communities."

The report to Cabinet focused on the 2021/22 period and highlights how the council's leisure partners, like other organisations across Wales and the UK, were emerging from the pandemic, assessing their challenges and opportunities for the years ahead.

At the time the council agreed to underwrite potential continuing losses of around £1.7m for the venues, the majority of which was claimed back by the authority from the Welsh Government's pandemic hardship fund.

The review of 2021/22 also identifies how each of the partners are working on plans to increase income and manage costs.