THE UK’S MUST-VISIT RESORT

Turning Bluestone into one of the UK’s staycation favourites.

Challenge

Bluestone National Park Resort is a five-star, family-friendly holiday destination in Pembrokeshire. While the resort was well known locally, it needed broader UK recognition to drive website traffic and bookings in an increasingly competitive staycation market.

Bluestone needed a strategy that would position them as a must-visit UK staycation destination and deliver against three clear objectives: reach 150 million people, increase website traffic year-on-year and contribute to an uplift in sales revenue.

Solution

We started with the numbers and the people behind them. Consumer research, Bluestone’s own sales data and geodemographic profiling told a clear story: the staycation boom was still going strong. 77% of Brits planned a UK break in 2024, 42% as their main one but what people wanted was shifting towards family time, discovery and sustainability. That gave Bluestone a real role to play. Its Pembrokeshire setting, sustainability credentials and family-first thinking set it apart from the bigger, better-known parks. But awareness alone doesn’t fill lodges, so we focused on reaching the right people, with the right message, in the places most likely to sway their decision.

Using geodemographic data, we honed in on three priority audiences and carefully selected high-converting “Big City” markets, from Swansea and Cardiff to Bristol and Birmingham. We then built a three-tier media strategy across aspirational national titles, high-reach family media and key regional outlets, and hung the PR on three creative pillars. “Free-Range Fun” showed Bluestone as the place families reconnect with each other and nature. “Passion for the Planet” built on its sustainability story, from a new solar farm to positioning the CEO as a voice of authority in Welsh tourism. And “Pride in Pembrokeshire” championed the destination as a quieter, more adventurous alternative to Cornwall, backed by proof like Which? naming Bluestone the UK’s third-best holiday park.

Results

Secured over 310 pieces of coverage between 1st January 2025 and 31st December 2025, generating a PR reach of 498 million (232% above target).

This included hero national media such as Conde Nast, The ‘i’, The Sun, MailOnline, BBC News, Take a Break and Closer

Outtakes

• Delivered a cost per 1,000 people (CPM) of just £0.10. • Coverage sentiment was 99% positive across the year.

• Google Trends data shows peaks in searches for “Bluestone Wales” over the last year saw a 200% YOY increase, and a 200% YOY increase for “Bluestone”. These peaks coincided with some of our key coverage:

  – March 2025 – Express feature.

• – July 2025 – Tourism Tax newsjacking & Which Survey results.

Total revenue in 2025 increased by 12% compared to the previous year.