Tag Archives: tourism

THE latest Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) quarterly barometer showed that hotel and guesthouse owners in Clare and across the country are very optimistic about 2017, after significant growth this year. Nine in 10 IHF members say they saw increased business in 2016, while 57% grew their workforce and some 89% have plans to reinvest in their properties in 2017. Also, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the number of overseas visitors grew by 10% to 8.8 million – the highest number on record. There was an increase of 10% in holiday visitors, while business visitors and those coming to visit friends and relatives were up 12%. Elaine Fitzgerald Kane, chair of the Shannon branch of the IHF, said there has been a lot to be positive about. “Irish tourism has seen a record-breaking year in 2016 and there is a lot to celebrate. This is an outstanding achievement and a result of the hard work being carried out by …

A new ferry operator has been appointed to Scattery Island and the new service will commence next May. West Coast Marine, based at Kilrush Marina boatyard, has been awarded the contract as the exclusive service providers to the island and will introduce a regular scheduled service with multiple departures daily . West Coast Marine, was launched in April this year by Kilrush natives Irene Griffin and her business partner Gerard Hamilton. The new ferry service, called Scattery Island Tours, will operate a minimum of three scheduled trips daily with increased runs expected in the peak summer months. The service will depart from Kilrush Marina through a dedicated ticket sales office located to the side of the existing marina building. Historically, access to the island has been affected by low tides, however, the new service will use a specially designed shallow draught passenger vessel, which will offer increased access to the island throughout the day. Irene Griffin of West Coast Marine …

Two new touring routes, branching off the Wild Atlantic Way, have been launched by Minister of State for Tourism Patrick O’Donovan, as part of a new pilot scheme from Fáilte Ireland to encourage visitors to discover the variety of inland visitor experiences as they travel along the Wild Atlantic Way. The Shannon Estuary Drive and the Burren Drive are the first in a series of drives to be developed adjacent to the Wild Atlantic Way with additional routes planned for later next year. Welcoming the initiative to broaden visitor activity in the west, Minister O’Donovan said, “As the Wild Atlantic Way continues to grow three years since its launch, we can now start to develop additional experiences for visitors to enjoy and, vitally, through initiatives like this we can start to plan for a more even spread of visitors across the West of Ireland.” These new touring routes will incorporate existing sites in the wider geography adjacent to the Wild …

A delegation of 19 tourism enterprises, including the Old Ground Hotel in Ennis, undertook a three-city trade and media blitz to the west coast of the United States last week. Thirteen Irish tourism companies and six American tour operators met influential travel agents and tour operators in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle, as part of Tourism Ireland’s 2017 promotions. California is now the second largest and fast-growing market within the United States for tourism to the island of Ireland. The sales blitz coincided with the announcement by Aer Lingus that its Los Angeles-Dublin flight will become a daily service for summer 2017. This is in addition to the Aer Lingus San Francisco-Dublin flight and Ethiopian Airlines’ service from Los Angeles. The ‘Jump into Ireland’ events were also an ideal opportunity to remind the American travel professionals that it’s now easier than ever before to get to the island of Ireland from the west coast of the US. Alison Metcalfe, …

Over 40 British leading meetings and events professionals enjoyed a flavour of the Mid-West, at the annual ‘Ireland Meets the West End’ gathering in London this week. The B2B event saw the buyers meet, and do business with, some 33 tourism businesses from Ireland, including the Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau. ‘Ireland Meets the West End’ is organised by Tourism Ireland in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland, to grow business tourism from Britain to the island of Ireland. It proved to be a valuable opportunity for the Irish companies to showcase and sell their product for 2017 and to communicate what is unique about Ireland as a world-class destination for doing business. David Boyce, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said, “Business tourism is an important, high yield sector and Tourism Ireland has undertaken a busy programme of activity throughout 2016, to grow this type of tourism. Our promotions have been highlighting our world-class venues …

Clare County Council has submitted an application for funding under the Rural Economic Development Zones (REDZ) initiative to develop the tourism potential of Scattery Island. Uninhabited since 1979, Scattery Island – also known as Inish Cathaigh – is located approximately one mile from Kilrush in the Shannon Estuary and is home to a monastery founded in the early 6th century by St. Senan. The island features the ruins of six churches and one of the highest Round Towers in Ireland at 120 ft. high. The funding application by the Economic Development and Rural Development sections of Clare County Council coincides with the OPW’s appointment of Conservation Architects, to undertake a Conservation and Management Plan relating to the island. It is anticipated that a new ferry provider will also be formally appointed shortly to provide a service from Kilrush Marina during the summer months. Meanwhile, the OPW’s new exhibition of Scattery Island is approaching completion and a “fresh” exhibition will be …

POSITIVE progress is being made on the development potential of Scattery Island as a tourism destination. The Office of Public Works has appointed conservation architects to prepare a Conservation and Management Plan, which will see Scattery Island as the first off-land destination point on the Wild Atlantic Way. Councillor Gabriel Keating said, “It is great to see Clare County Council, the Office of Public Works and the local community working together to deliver on the undoubted potential that there is.” He said the appointment of the conservation architects, combined with the upgrading of the exhibition in the Scattery Island Visitor Centre and the proposed enhancement of ferry services to the island, offer the prospect of Scattery further developing into a key and unique part of the Wild Atlantic Way. “I know also that the council is looking at a Rural Economic Development Zone (REDZ) project for the island, which will further develop heritage tourism in the wider Kilrush area. The …

The creation of 3,400 extra tourism jobs has been lauded by The Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC), but allied to a warned that the sector faces external threats. The tourism industry was worth €7.3 billion to the Irish economy last year and over eight million international tourists visited Ireland in 2015. The sector paid €1.8 billion to the exchequer in taxes last year. 2016 has continued to perform strongly with 13% growth in overseas visitors for the first six months, ITIC reported. ITIC said that the latest CSO quarterly figures show that tourism has increased employment further and is Ireland’s largest business employer. The sector now accounts for one in nine jobs nationally. Recent tourism jobs include the opening of two flagship visitor attractions in Dublin – GPO’s Witness History and Epic Ireland, ITIC said. However, ITIC has warned that growth and regional balance should not be taken for granted. The group said that the decisions taken in Budget 2017 …