Pembrokeshire is the top dog

Pembrokeshire is the top dog

Gone to the dogs: tourist chiefs in Wales are promoting holidays with a furry friend

Gone to the dogs: tourist chiefs in Wales are promoting holidays with a furry friend

BARKING mad tourism chiefs in Pembrokeshire are hoping to market the destination as the ideal place to go on holiday with your pet dog.

Following repeated requests for help from dog owners at Pembrokeshire’s Tourist Information Centres, a booklet will be launched at World Travel Market called Holidays With Your Best Friend.

The booklet will list hoteliers sympathetic to dog owners and focuses on areas where dogs are welcome.

Deciding it was too good an opportunity to miss, last word mystery shopped a few other tourist information centres to find out how helpful they would be to someone seeking accommodation and with an Irish wolfhound in tow.

Malton Tourist Information Centre in North Yorkshire passed the test with flying colours. The assistant put an accommodation guide in the post and said: “I’ve got a St Bernard myself and often wonder what people who claim they are dog friendly would say if I turned up with my pet.”

The response was similar at the centre in the Cotswold town of Burford. The assistant was able to suggest a former hunting lodge known for being dog friendly.

Deciding the test was obviously too easy, last word raised the stakes. What if the holidaymaker had, oh, say, five Irish wolfhounds named Sporty, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Scary?

Barnsley Tourist Information Centre was, not surprisingly, suspicious of the request but came up with a few properties while Oldham Tourist Information Centre, although a bit flustered, did their best.

“Can I suggest you try self-catering, although you had better call the establishment in advance,” last word was told.

But this test would not be complete without a quick call to where it all started, so a centre in Pembrokeshire was rung.

And well done to Milford Haven. Dog gone, do they know their stuff. Not only was an accommodation guide quickly dispatched, but advice was also given on where the dogs may or may not be allowed to go.