Club to boost business and sports tourism

County Clare is ­positioning itself to increase its share of the lucrative national and ­international sports tourism market through the establishment of  The County Clare Ambassador Club.

Under the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau and Shannon Development-driven initiative, professional support and advice will be offered to individuals or organisations planning to bring sports and business events to the county next year.
The County Clare Ambassador Club will be officially launched at The Rowan Tree Café in Ennis next Thursday night, November 1, from 6pm to 7pm.
The club is designed to provide a targeted approach to attracting conferences and events to Clare and will complement the existing Conference and Sports Ambassadors Programme, which helped bring more than €7 million into the Shannon region during 2011.
Karen Brosnahan of Shannon Region ­Conference and Sports Bureau explained that The County Clare Ambassador Club is being introduced to increase Clare’s share of the sports tourism market.
“The events hosted in the Shannon Region last year would have otherwise taken place elsewhere in Ireland or Europe were it not for supports that have been put in place by the Conference & Sports ­Ambassadors Programme.
“The club is open to everyone interested in bringing some of that business to County Clare. This includes members of any association or company that attends conferences or events, or persons involved in a sporting club, charity or voluntary organisation,” she outlined.
Ms Brosnahan noted that sports and business tourism benefits a range of businesses, from the accommodation sector, transport services, pubs and restaurants, right through to visitor attractions, sports facilities and the retail trade.
“The Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau, along with our partners in Shannon Development, offer a support to anyone trying to secure an event for County Clare. 
“We offer a free, professional advisory service that can help and facilitate with any conference, corporate meeting or sports event. By establishing The County Clare Ambassador Club, we are actively encouraging a concerted and united effort to attracting business and sports tourism to County Clare,” she added.
Currently, there are more than 300 ambassadors actively working with the bureau and Shannon Development to help attract business and sports tourism to the Shannon Region.
In 2011, eight new sports events were secured, worth €4.25m and 24 business events worth €3.1m.
Nearly all the conference delegates were international. 
Pre-registration is required for Thursday night’s club launch event and individuals or groups interested in attending should email karen@meetlimerickshannon.com  by next Tuesday.