'Phenomenal' and 'record-breaking' - just two of the words used by local tourism operators to describe the bumper Easter weekend South Pembrokeshire enjoyed.

Seen as the traditional launchpad to the summer season, the county threw open its doors for 2009 and basked in glorious sunshine as it welcomed crowds of people over the four-day Bank Holiday.

'No vacancy' signs were displayed outside hotels and guest houses, ice-cream vans were back on the beaches, and car parks were full as large numbers flocked to the popular seaside resorts and attractions.

The ever-popular autograss racing at Castle Lloyd between Red Roses and Pendine and the Point to Point races at Lydstep once again drew large crowds, while other seasonal events included a successful duck race at St. Florence and the revival of the Easter bonnet parade in Tenby.

Although the temperatures noted by Tenby's weather recorder, Mrs. Trisha Putwain, were fairly cool, the hours of sun were 'pretty good', with 7.4 on Friday, 10.3 on Saturday, 12.8 on Sunday, and 4.1 on Monday.

The most rain was on Monday, 9.0mm - just over a third of an inch - and the winds light, force 1 or 2, throughout.

"So a goodish weekend, but it went off a bit on Monday, with sun in the early morning, and then rain later," said Mrs. Putwain.

National Park Authority-run visitor attractions in the south of the county reported a busy Easter weekend and park rangers noted many caravans and camper vans around the county's roads.

Carew Castle welcomed more than 1,000 visitors over the weekend, with over 250 children enjoying an Easter egg hunt in the castle grounds on Easter Monday.

It was also a busy time at Tenby's National Park Interpretation Centre; more than 950 visitors were welcomed across the weekend.

Figures from Pembrokeshire County Council revealed a total of 1,654 and 1,770 visitors passed through the doors of Tenby and Saundersfoot Tourist Information Centres, respectively, between Good Friday and Easter Monday, 1,482 more than the total for both facilities the previous Easter.

There was good news for new Tenby hotelier, Malcolm Brace, of The Giltar Hotel, who was delighted with a three-day full booking period over Easter, with private bookings up considerably.

It seemed to have been a similar story around the county, with Plas Hyfryd, Narberth's bookings breaking the mould.

Barry Chapman, manager, commented: "Although traditionally it's never a really busy time of year for us, this year broke the mould, with leisure guests up by over 50 per cent and a number of guests booking for the whole three-night period."

Alison Belton, chief executive of Pembrokeshire Tourism, noted that with Easter being later in the year and thankfully during the school holidays, the self-catering market generally fared well, with cottages filled for the two weeks either side of the Easter weekend.

Pembrokeshire Tourism, who represent over 500 tourism trade members in the county, say that members are reporting a huge upsurge in late bookings and requests for short breaks, even in the selfcatering market.

The impact of booking sites such as Lastminute.com, Bookings.com etc do impact on the visitor, who are much more savvy in shopping on line for last minute bargains.

The serviced sector, including bed and breakfasts and guest houses, has had a mixed Easter, with many members reporting much higher bookings than last year, and conversely, there seems to be no in between measure, with others reporting very low uptake. However, the hostel sector fared better with group bookings over the Bank Holiday period.

Nick Evans, chairman of Pembrokeshire Tourism, commented: "It's encouraging to see more market confidence from a high percentage of our members across the tourism spectrum. It's our role as a trade association to ensure that members work together in continuing to promote Pembrokeshire as a fantastic destination for long and short breaks, all year around."

Five-hundred children headed for the National Trust's Colby Woodland Garden at Amroth over the weekend to join in the special Cadbury-sponsored Easter Egg Trail.  Children hunted for clues all over the meadows and woodlands to win a Cadbury egg.

Event co-ordinator Elizabeth Sleight said: "It was great to see so many families enjoying the wildlife quiz trail together and having so much fun."

Folly Farm, Begelly - which recently welcomed the first giraffes in Wales - also basked in the Easter tourist boom with a bumper weekend, said managing director Chris Ebsworth.

Visitor numbers soared to a record high over a 'phenomenal' few days, putting hopes high for an exciting summer for the park.

Added Mr. Ebsworth: "People have been pouring in to see our new attractions.

"The giraffes have been the most popular, closely followed by the K9 Capers Dog Olympics show, the African walkthrough enclosure and our new soft play area.

"Our staff have been fantastic, and have worked hard to maintain our high standard of customer service throughout this very busy period."

Elsewhere, the Easter sun brought an abundance of visitors to Heatherton Sports Park, St. Florence, with record-breaking numbers recorded.

Managing director Charles Davies described the weekend as 'glorious' and believed the success of the New Tree Tops Trail had a large part to play in the overall success of the park.

Simon Meyrick, owner of the Tenby Dinosaur Park, said: "We've had really good business the week before Easter and over the holiday weekend.

"It was much better than last year and it was nice to see lots of happy holidaymakers enjoying Pembrokeshire in the sunshine."

At Pembroke Castle, David Ramsden, manager, said: "To date we are happy with our visitor numbers which appear to be in line with 2008."

And in Narberth, secretary of the Chamber of Trade, Gordon Barry, said: "Despite the unfounded rumours that a 'superstore' is to be implanted in Narberth and thus destroy the hard won reputation of the town as a haven of shopping excellence, the ever-exuberant traders and shop owners have enjoyed the first sign of recovery within the local economy.

"The Bank Holiday weather over the weekend helped with the realisation that Pembrokeshire is one of the premier venues for visitors to Wales, while our town's service and imaginative shopping provision have ensured that Narberth continues to be the premier shopping destination in the county."

He added: "Let's now hope for a glorious summer to blow the blues away."