Tourists queue to get a drink in one of the busiest holiday destinations in the UK.
Each year two million people visit Tenby in West Wales - 500 visitors for every person who lives in the town.
Many flock to Tenby because of its excellent beaches, enchantingly narrow streets, towering castle walls and selection of shops, restaurants and pubs, Wales Online reports.
It has earned itself a reputation as one of the best seaside towns in the country, ranking as the third best Welsh destination in that category in a recent Which? survey.
This year promises to be as busy as ever, with people from all over the UK desperate for a trip to the seaside after a tumultuous few years of Covid lockdowns followed by a largely crippling cost-of-living crisis.
On Easter weekend a pictured showed people queuing up in a central square waiting to get inside Tenby House, a clearly very popular pub in the town.
The striking image showed how many people are keen to get a slice of the town's beauty and location.
While there are other magnificent tourist spots in west Wales, none of them are as accessible as Tenby.
On the most recent Saturday there were eight trains connecting the east of Wales and England with Tenby between 6.43am and 7.03pm.
While that might not seem like a lot compared to a central city location, for a small town that represents floods of tourists.
Other holiday hotspots in Wales such as New Quay, Newport, Llangrannog, Tresaith, Aberaeron, Aberystwyth and St Davids are not accessible by train.
As a result, Tenby is the place to go in west Wales.
Farr from concerned about the coming crowds as the summer bank holiday season behind, business owners in Tenby are excitedly looking forward to the swathes of tourists who will spend their holiday cash in the town.
After all, it’s not been an easy few years.
“In 2021, when people could travel but not go abroad, that’s when we had to put in place systems to cope,” said Angus Dunlop, owner of Tenby Boat Trips.
Currently the firm runs two boat trips a day, but by mid-July will offer up to 10 per day.
"We introduced things like internet bookings to cope with the extra numbers and those things have stayed in place, so we are in a better position to cope with things now," Angus said.
"All the things we introduced then have really helped us to become better organised for when we do get really busy.”
Angus thinks Covid has changed a lot of people’s mindsets when it comes to how they spend their free time and their holidays.
“People maybe have realised that they can have a holiday here in Wales, without going abroad or even to Cornwall. It opened their horizons to what is on their doorsteps," he said.
After losing out on trade in 2020 and 2021, the sense in Tenby now is that it can’t be busy enough, and that the months ahead are when the town really comes into its own.
"We are a commercial operation. We want to grow our business and invest in our business, and the ability to put money back into that is huge," Angus said.
"We want to expand and improve what we offer to our customers. The business community here is very strong, and we know that if we’re busier then the pubs will be busier, so it helps everyone.
"Our main focus as a business community is to be a family friendly town, that’s our market.
"The days of being known as a town for stag dos and hen weekends are gone.”
Rachel Thompson, who owns Lindholme Guest House, said that Tenby will also feel bustling in the summer months.
"This is a small medieval town with small streets so it will always look really, really busy in the summer months," she said.
"If the weather is nice you can’t be in a better place than Tenby; it’s a brilliant holiday destination, and there’s definitely enough here to go around.
"Even in the summer, nobody will struggle to get a room, there’s definitely enough capacity.
"There are flats, there are Air B&Bs, cottages, B&Bs, hotels, and people can also go towards Saundersfoot, St Florence, Manorbier - all these places are within five or six miles of Tenby.
""The locals are friendly, there are lots of nice places to eat, places to stay, great fish and chip shops, beaches everywhere.
"It’s beautiful and it’s definitely ready for the summer season. Why wouldn’t you want to come here?”
Matt Ronowitz is a restaurant owner who has just opened Ronni’z Lounge in the town and also owns Qube restaurant down the road.
He, like other business owners, is adamant that Tenby can cope with the flock of tourists that are soon to arrive over the ensuing weeks and months.
"People like to come out and have a few drinks with food and have a few cocktails," he said.
"In peak times it’s always busy, but in Qube the trade on weekends is very strong all year round. It used to drop off around October, but it’s busier now because there are more holiday lets and more Air B&Bs.”
One challenge for Matt and other people involved in the hospitality trade is the availability, or lack, of staff.
“I think people realised that they valued their time more after Covid - people enjoyed having time off and time to themselves, so the industry has struggled to get staff," he said.
"But I think that’s coming back slowly because people have realised they need to work more hours to pay their bills during these times - the cost of everything has gone up so people need to do that little bit more.”
