Tag Archives: tourism

COMMUNITIES on either side of the Shannon Estuary were united recently as part of a unique event, as the renowned Ilen ship followed the path of the old cargo ships down the Shannon Estuary, transporting ‘Gift Cargo Boxes’ between communities on each side of the Estuary. As part of the event, these local Shannon Estuary communities were invited to put together a Cargo Box from their area, to gift to other communities along the Shannon Estuary. The invite to gift a cargo box was greeted with huge enthusiasm with communities gathering gifts that best represented the produce or heritage from their individual areas, as well as the trade traditions between the Estuary communities. Gift boxes included loose tea and sugar from Kildysart and grain, seaweed and lace from Kilrush town and a Gandelaw anchor from Clarecastle along with a variety of gifts from Labasheeda and horseshoes from Ballynanally. Limerick City was also represented with hampers from Treaty City Beers, The …

LOW-BUDGET tourism was debated by the council’s Rural Committee this week when members heard that some visitors are going so far as to dispose of the contents of campervan sewage tanks in public toilets. Councillor Cillian Murphy said one particular blog had advice on travelling the Wild Atlantic Way without spending a penny. “This includes a guide on how to dump the contents of a sewage box,” he said. “It talks about walking into a shopping centre with a bag in order to do so. Explain to me the economic value of that.” The Fianna Fáil member made his remarks when asked by Councillor Pat Burke about the experience in West Clare last summer. It followed a presentation to the Rural Committee of The County Clare Tourism Strategy 2030. Councillor Burke welcomed positive tourism developments for East Clare, but raised concerns about the restriction of services due to the pandemic. “We had a number of campers arrive at Dromaan Harbour …

CONCERNS are emerging in the North Clare area and among tourism businesses about a perceived low level of consultation regarding the Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040. There are concerns among local business people and elected representatives that the early direction of the future plan is seeking to prioritise national tourism, without taking much account of local tourism operators or the local community. It is understood that there have been rather sharp discussions between members of the executive of Clare County Council and elected representatives on the matter. While it goes without saying that the Cliffs of Moher is a huge factor in Clare tourism, there has been a feeling that the county has not benefited from it to anything like the extent it should in recent years, with many of the visitors coming on bus tours and only spending a very short time in this county. Some concerned parties this week also told the Clare Champion that the early direction …

FÁILTE Ireland is set to support an approved Local Link bus service for East Clare, boosting public transport facilities for visitors and residents alike. News of the development was secured by Deputy Cathal Crowe who said additional routes will be added as part of the Shannon Tourism Masterplan, which was unveiled last week. The Fianna Fáil TD said that the planned investment will play a major role in rejuvenating the entire east of the county. “There is huge untapped potential in terms of Lough Derg and East Clare’s tourism product,” said Deputy Crowe. “For many decades, the entire focus has been on developing the Cliffs of Moher and West Clare’s tourism offering and while this has been great, it has led to an imbalance of tourism development within our county and there has been a neglect of the Lough Derg-Lower Shannon area for too long.” Deputy Crowe also noted the importance of the new routes in the context of the …

ZERO Covid is strategy that would be unworkable and herald the end of tourism and aviation in Clare, according to Deputy Michael McNamara. The approach has been mooted by a growing number of opposition TDs and members of the medical profession and would involve reducing coronavirus cases to an absolute minimum, through a combination of lockdown and tight border controls. “Zero Covid sounds fine,” the Independent TD said, “but even if it was achievable, and I don’t believe that it is, when we can’t decide where we are going to have our border, what then? If we get to zero Covid cases, how are we to maintain that situation without more or less permanent quarantining of people arriving into the country? If that’s to be the system, we can forget about tourism and aviation in Clare, permanently.” The Scariff-based deputy also rejected the narrative that the response to the pandemic involves a trade-off between public health and the economy. “I …

THE government has been urged to put a strategic plan in place to support the development of Shannon Airport and tourism attractions this year. This issue was raised by Deputy Michael McNamara in the Dáil recently when he reminded An Taoiseach Micheál Martin that he highlighted the Shannon Group, Shannon Airport and their pivotal role for the economic well being of the Mid-West following his elevation six months ago. Deputy McNamara asked what plan is in place to support aviation and tourism across the Mid-West in 2020. “What is the plan for Shannon Heritage? The two sites that have opened are closing on January 3. It is planned to open the sites again in April, but Shannon Heritage remains in the Shannon Group with a commercial mandate and the sites ill fit a commercial mandate because while they generate money, they generate money more broadly in the economy than they do within the group itself. The Taoiseach acknowledged this “serious” …

A DEEP crisis facing the tourism sector in Clare was acknowledged as a new plan was approved by councillors this week to guide the industry for the next decade. The role of tourism as the county’s largest indigenous employer was highlighted, with hopes expressed by some members that the authority might play a role in securing a national cultural centre for Clare. Outlining the impact of Covid-19 on tourism at the monthly meeting of Clare County Council, Director of Service Leonard Cleary noted that the new plan had had to take account of the pandemic. Head of Tourism Deirdre O’Shea agreed that against that backdrop, the strategy was vital. “The local tourism economy is in deep crisis,” she said. “Having a strategy is more important than ever for the next ten years.” Ms O’Shea outlined the risk to the 12,000 jobs dependent on tourism, as well as to the €266 million generated annually by the sector. “The strategy is still …

A BOOST to hotel trade in parts of Clare has come in the form of newly-weds honeymooning at home this year. With a raft of Covid-19 related rules curtailing the size of gatherings at weddings, many have opted to defer their nuptials, but those who are tying the knot in the time of coronavirus, are providing tourism operations with a very welcome staycation boost. “I have seen a lot of Irish honeymooners coming to Clare,” said Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan. “My stocks of champagne are much depleted and anecdotally I’m hearing that couples who are staying in the country for their honeymoons are getting to discover what the country has to offer. I think there is a silver lining here in that people are quite surprised by what their own country has to offer.” In terms of his own business, the former Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) president said that while visitor numbers had been strong in August, he estimate that …