First tourism strategy for County Clare

CLARE County Council has adopted its first tourism strategy for the county and pinpointed product development and marketing and promotion as their vision for tourism in the county going forward.

The strategy places a particular emphasis on value for money and a strong customer focus and, according to Councillor Richard Nagle, “the actions underpinning the strategy are strategic, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely and will result in the opportunities available being capitalised on”.
Councillor Nagle, who is chair of the Strategic Policy Committee for Community and Enterprise, Tourism and Emergency Services, noted that by adopting a strategic approach, the council will be in a strong position to respond to the challenges currently facing the tourism sector.
County manager, Tom Coughlan added that a strategic focus is required to allow Clare County Council to appropriately respond to the challenges facing it in its role in relation to tourism development in the county.
He explained, “In taking a strategic approach, the strategy identifies the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for tourism in the county, while simultaneously acknowledging possible threats, which may continue to adversely affect the tourism industry in general. The opportunities detailed in the document, combined with the strengths of tourism in the county, provide a broad platform to enable Clare County Council to achieve its vision.”
Mayor of Clare, Councillor Christy Curtin suggested that in the context of limited and often very reduced resources it is important that the council shows leadership by working closely with partner agencies, such as Shannon Development and Fáilte Ireland, and the tourism sector in the promotion and development of tourism in the region.
The actions in this strategy, the mayor added, are complementary to the work of Shannon Development in the county with a strong emphasis on a partnership approach to product development and marketing and promotion of the county.