Councillors voiced their desire to see more camping provisions developed after a report was given into the state of tourism in the area.
A number of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Councillors said they would like to see more electrical hookups for campervans in the county borough to encourage more people to visit.
Plaid Cymru councillors Nigel Thomas Hunt and Scott Bamsey were among those who said they would like to see the option of developing more provisions for campers explored by the council at a Regeneration and Sustainable Development Scrutiny meeting on Friday, January 14.
Read more: You can find more stories from Port Talbot here.
In response to the council's Tourism Update Report, Cllr Bamsey said he thought the county borough was "missing a trick" in not having more provisions for campers, pointing to other areas in Wales like the Gower and Tenby - which he said is "flooded with camping facilities".
Cllr Bamsey added: "Camping and [having] campervans is a growing [trend] in the UK.
"That is the way to attract people to stay - we need places for them to go.
"We have got the cycling, we have got the beach. I really do think that it would be huge and extremely popular if we had the electrical hook-up facilities here."
The council's Dramatic Heart of Wales destination marketing campaign was launched on September 14, 2021 with the aim of showcasing the best of what Neath Port Talbot County Borough has to offer and encourage more people to visit.
According to the Tourism Update Report, the campaign aims to meet a target of increasing the number of visitors to Neath Port Talbot attractions by 15,000 within 12 months of its launch.
Destination Management and Marketing Manager, Karleigh Davies said the council's planning department had received "quite a lot" of enquiries from landowners looking to set up caravan and camping sites.
She said: "We know there is demand there. We just need the private sector to come along and deliver it, and it is our job to help facilitate that and we do."
Cllr Bamsey questioned whether there was anything the council could do to look into the matter and asked whether more staff could be taken on by the council to carry out the work needed to explore the viability of more camping provisions.
Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Sustainable Development, Annette Wingrave, said: "It's not always as easy as we think it is. We are working on it. There are extra resources being put in, especially for staff because that is the issue.
"It's not that we don't want to do this work, it is that there are no officers there to do it.
"I write regular letters lobbying for more funding and I will write to everybody I can think of, but one or two voices are seldom heard.
"You are all passionate about this, so I would suggest that you all put pen to paper and write to any relevant person you can think of [and lobby] for more funding for us as a council.
"We don't get our fair share as far as I am concerned and we should get more, whether that is from the Senedd or central government and one voice is rarely heard. You can all do this."
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