County enjoys ‘The Gathering Effect’

THE tourism industry in Clare has enjoyed a better 2013, after a number of tough years, with much of the turnaround due to The Gathering, an initiative much maligned before the year began.

Lahinch hotelier Michael Vaughan, who is also president of the Irish Hotels Federation, said The Gathering has been a significant factor. While there was some cynicism about the initiative at the start of the year, with actor Gabriel Byrne claiming it was more about money-grabbing than anything else, Mr Vaughan said it had succeeded and that communities had bought into it.

“You’d have to say it [The Gathering] was a 100% success. When it started off and the initial hopes were outlined, a lot in the tourism trade believed they were only aspirational. As the year went on, it certainly gathered momentum and it wasn’t because of any one huge event but there were lots of small, cumulative events that have led to an overall increase in tourism, particularly from our core market. We’re talking of an increase of up to 16% in the American market, which is absolutely huge,” he said.
US visitors have always been important to Clare and Mr Vaughan said The Gathering had been very successful in encouraging Americans to come back to the country.

“The American market has been the great success of The Gathering and early indications are that it seems to have been a catalyst to bring on the Irish tourism product.

“I was talking to the owners of Grand Circle Tours, who are based in Rhode Ireland. They were saying that in 2014, for the first time in their 60-year history, Ireland has overtaken Italy as a destination of choice for their tours. That’s phenomenal really.

“They are one of the longest established tour operators coming into the country. They are regular visitors to Ennis. They’d bring a tour at least every two weeks to Ennis and they say there is something happening in Irish tourism that Americans are reconnecting with. They say that their advance bookings for 2014 are 34% up on last year. In the tourism business, we’re calling it The Gathering effect and it seems to have been just the catalyst that was needed.”

He said the important thing now is to keep communities and local authorities engaged with tourism.

“What everyone is talking about in tourism is how local communities and festivals came together and made this happen. That’s something that’s there as a legacy going forward. At a national level, people are talking about how to sustain the growth going forward. Everyone is saying that continued support is needed for the county councils. Clare County Council is seen as one that was very proactive in the promotion of The Gathering and events around it.”

Shannon Group CEO Neil Pakey also said The Gathering had worked and that it had come at a great time for Shannon.

“The Gathering has been a marvellous initiative and we welcome the follow-up for next year with the Wild Atlantic Way. The Gathering was certainly timely in the context of Shannon’s first year as an independent entity.

“It enabled the airport to use the message of The Gathering when attracting airlines to Shannon and convincing them to come on board with new services this year. It was certainly an additional factor is securing new services across the network in 2013.

“After some difficult years for the tourism industry, due to the global economic downturn, The Gathering helped re-launch Ireland on a global scale this year and has created a real momentum in terms of next year and beyond.

“Ireland was only recently voted Best US Destination in the influential Global Traveler Magazine and The Gathering would certainly have helped in that regard as it heightened awareness among a bigger audience than ever of the fantastic product there is here and refocused the minds of the product providers to make sure they gave the best service possible to tourists.”

Monica Meehan, Clare Gathering co-ordinator, also said The Gathering has worked for the Banner.

“There is no doubt but that The Gathering initiative and the variety of festivals and events that took place around the county have paid significant dividends for the sector.

“Over 240 events were staged this year. At the beginning of the year it was projected that The Gathering initiative could attract at least 20,000 international visitors to County Clare, injecting up to €10m in the local economy.

“With a 10% increase in visitors to the Cliffs of Moher and also to Loop Head Lighthouse and the recorded overseas visitors to funded events, there is no doubt but that this projection has been met if not exceeded,” she said.