Tag Archives: tourism

Better ATM facilities are needed in the popular tourist areas in the county, Fine Gael senator Martin Conway has said. The Ennistymon senator has also sharply criticised the banks’ management of ATM facilities in North and West Clare over the busy summer period. Senator Conway said: “Last weekend was one of the busiest weekends of the year for many tourism areas particularly County Clare as visitor numbers flocked to our tourist attractions at the Cliffs of Moher and along the Wild Atlantic Way. “Numbers continue to grow this week with the ever popular Fleadh Cheoil taking place in Ennis. “When people visit our area they like to spend money and we encourage them to do so, but unfortunately they were unable to access cash facilities as all ATMs were out of service in North and West Clare for most of the weekend. “This happens on a regular basis and is unacceptable for local people, but it also severely impacts the …

The Government must protect jobs in the Mid-West from the worst impacts of Brexit, Ennis Councillor Johnny Flynn has stressed. “The UK withdrawal from Europe places Irish jobs at risk; we have already seen due to the fall in value of sterling that there is a significant drop in tourists from UK. With tourism responsible for one of seven jobs in Clare I am concerned of the impact that that any plans to increase the VAT rate from 9% on tourism spend might have in Ennis and Clare.” Clare and Ennis was very badly affected by the economic collapse in 2008 with huge increase in people signing on due to job losses. By 2012 there were 10,493 people unemployed in Clare, that figure is now 6075. The number of people signing on the Live Register in Ennis district alone has dropped by 2028 from 5859 to 3389 since 2012, Mr Flynn has learned.This news comes as the CSO revealed the …

THE Blueway concept is coming to Lough Derg in the summer of 2018. This will provide an opportunity to showcase the lake area, increase the recreational use of the lake by residents and visitors, generate additional tourism into the area and add value to the existing tourism services. A recent series of Blueway capacity building workshops, for local tourism providers and communities, have helped to shape this local Blueway initiative. These workshops were well attended and a lot of valuable information was gathered from this consultation process.  There will be one more Blueway Development workshop on  June 20 at the Abbey Court Hotel in Nenagh at 7pm.

A TOURISM Ireland campaign is under way in The Daily Telegraph showcasing the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland to British holidaymakers. The campaign includes a series of articles about Ireland in the Saturday travel section of The Daily Telegraph, which has readership of 1.4 million people across Britain. An article Be a wild rover along Ireland’s dramatic coast, highlights the Wild Atlantic Way and “the towering Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, where you can stare west across to the Aran Islands”. The campaign also includes a specially-created ‘Indulge in Ireland’ hub on The Telegraph website. Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said, “Our partnership with The Daily Telegraph is another excellent opportunity to highlight Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way. Tourism Ireland is actively promoting longer-stay holidays and encouraging British travellers to come and discover Ireland by car. Visitors who use a car on holidays tend to stay longer, spend more and are more likely to visit more than one region.”

The Embassy of Ireland in Paris was the venue for a recent B2B tourism event, Irlande à Paris. Organised by Tourism Ireland, the networking event involved some 70 leading French group travel operators meeting, and doing business with, 18 Irish tourism companies, including Shannon Heritage. Monica MacLaverty, Tourism Ireland’s manager of Southern Europe, said, “We are delighted that so many key decision-makers from the group travel sector in France took the time to meet with our tourism partners from Ireland, to hear about our fantastic tourism offering and the many opportunities for group travel to County Clare and the West of Ireland.” France is one of the top four markets for tourism to the island of Ireland and 2016 was the fourth record-breaking year in a row for French visitors to Ireland. Last year was the best year ever for tourism from France to the island of Ireland, when with more than 500,000 French visitors.

Fourteen Irish tourism companies, including O’Brien Line Ferries and Shannon Ferries, have joined Tourism Ireland at the British Tourism and Travel Show this week. The show at the NEC in Birmingham is an annual event for the travel trade in Britain,attracting nearly 3,000 coach tour operators and group travel organisers, including leading travel companies like British Airways Holidays, Coachholidays.com and JacTravel. The two-day event provides a valuable opportunity for the participating companies from Ireland to meet, and do business with, key players in the British travel trade. Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said, “Great Britain is the largest market for tourism to Ireland and we were pleased to see visitor numbers increase by +11% in 2016, an extra 377,200 British visitors compared with 2015. Our presence at this year’s show is just one element of Tourism Ireland’s programme of activity with the travel trade. Our aim is to enthuse the British travel trade, including online and …

Representatives of Clare County Council met with senior executives from Tourism Ireland in New York over  St Patrick’s weekend. They were briefed on Tourism Ireland’s extensive promotional programme for 2017, which is in full swing right now. Tourism Ireland aims to build on the success of 2016, which was the fourth record-breaking year in a row for Irish tourism from the United States. Tourism Ireland is prioritising North America this year, as a market which offers a strong return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure. Our important ‘culturally curious’ and ‘social energiser’ audiences are being targeted with distinctive vacation experiences, events and special offers tailored to their interests. Tourism Ireland is creating ‘stand out’ for the island of Ireland in the US, highlighting experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way, the Causeway Coastal Route and Ireland’s Ancient East. Promotions aim to grow travel to the regions of Ireland, during the shoulder and off-peak seasons. With the recent announcement …

The role played by three local authorities, including Clare County Council, in developing and promoting tourism in the Lough Derg region has received official recognition at the 2017 Irish Tourism Industry Awards. The Lough Derg Marketing Group (LDMG) was named Best Local Authority Tourism Initiative at an event in Dublin on Friday night attended by Minister for Tourism Shane Ross. The Lough Derg Marketing Group was set up to develop Lough Derg as a key visitor destination. Its membership includes Clare County Council, Tipperary County Council, Galway County Council, Waterways Ireland, Inland Fisheries Ireland, community development organisations, and business and trade representatives. The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC), the umbrella group for the tourism industry in Ireland, organises the Irish Tourism Industry Awards in conjunction with Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. Designed with the intention of rewarding innovation and excellence in tourism, 14 winners were selected from approximately 250 entries.