*Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) said the private sector must step up to provide more hotels in Clare.
STRONGER EFFORTS need to be made to keep tourists in Clare for overnight stays while a former Deputy Mayor of Clare has said it is up to the business community to “put their hand in their pockets” and build more hotels in the county.
West Clare councillors want the area to have its own launch of the Cliff Coast Destination and Experience Development Plan (CCDEDP) while also stressing the need to encourage tourists to prolong their stay in the county.
In February, the CCDEDP was officially launched at Ballygarry Estate Hotel and Spa in Tralee but councillors in West Clare are keen that the plan also have a formal unveiling in Clare with a proposal requesting same tabled by Cllr Michael Shannon (FF).
The CCDEDP is a five year sustainable tourism development plan for West Clare and North Kerry. It has been developed through a programme of research and consultation incorporating the views of visitors, the tourism industry, local community and a programme of international benchmarking. The objective of the CCDEDP is to achieve growth in revenue to return to 2019 levels of tourism income by 2026. In addition, the aim is to ensure the region has the capacity to achieve up to 5% ahead of that target.
Head of Tourism in Clare County Council, Deirdre O’Shea explained that the plan “aims to create a sustainable tourism destination by extending the tourism season and spreading business across all parts of the region over the next five years. The Implementation Group meetings are well underway with key stakeholders from Clare County Council, Kerry County Council, Irish Hotels Federation, LEADER, and local tourism businesses and networks. The next implementation group meeting will take place in Vandeleur Walled Gardens and Visitor Centre to showcase West Clare”.
Speaking at a meeting of the West Clare Municipal District, Cllr Shannon said the launch in Tralee was “very interesting”. He believed the plan was “putting more meat on the bone for the Wild Atlantic Way for North Kerry and Clare, we need to keep pushing this idea, we need to keep the people an extra night in the county, over a million people are coming into Clare”.
More tourists need to visit West Clare, Cllr Shannon maintained. He referenced the success opening Loop Head Lighthouse, “it is about investing in it. The Peninsula is a different world in itself, the environment and landscape is different”. He continued, “The roads are under serious pressure, we need to encourage people to stay an extra night in Clare. Anyone active in tourism industry from here (Ennistymon) to Miltown Malbay are very professional, we’ve good hotels. They are all paying top rates, they have fantastic facilities and we want to support them”.
Getting the final plan produced “wasn’t an easy journey,” Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) recalled. “There was a lot of heated meetings, it was very Kerry centric initially, I’m amazed at the changes we managed to get in”. He continued, “If we’ve to have another relaunch to make sure we don’t become secondary to this then let’s do it, keep the pressure on”.
A tour of the Loop Head Peninsula was provided to Cllr Shannon by Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG), he told the meeting, “I’m glad he learned a bit”. Keating continued, “Tourists will come if there is an attraction, it is up to the shop owners or whatever, lay something on and have something happen”. He said, “I’ve said it for the last fifteen years, we need more hotels, people need to put their hand in their pocket, we need to build a few hotels and be thinking of that”.
Director of Services for the Tourism Directorate in the Council, Siobhán McNulty said the implementation group is led by General Manager of Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Joe Russell. “This is specific delivery, it is identifying it as a destination experience, Fáilte Ireland chairs will work on individual projects. Never be afraid of the Kerry/Clare divide, we work very well with them,” she said.
Cathaoirleach of the West Clare MD, Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) asked what was the possibility of holding a launch. “We can discuss this with Fáilte Ireland, I will take it from this meeting that there is a request,” McNulty replied.
