ENRIGHT APPOINTED TO NATIONAL TOURISM RECOVERY TASKFORCE
CHIEF Executive at Wexford County Council Mr Tom Enright is one of 14 people included in a new taskforce established by Minister Shane Ross with the goal of reviving a decimated tourism sector post Covid-19.
The Irish Tourism Recovery Taskforce will be headed up by Ruth Andrews, CEO of the Irish Tour Operators Association and Chair of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation and includes such industry leaders as CEO of Fáilte Ireland Paul Kelly, CEO of Tourism Ireland Niall Gibbons, Irish Hotels Federation President Elaina Fitzgerald Kane and former Aer Lingus CEO Stephen Kavanagh.
Minister Ross says he founded the taskforce to look at solutions to a devastating problem for the industry; one in which the majority of people have been laid off or are availing of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. This loss is keenly felt in Wexford.
‘Well in Wexford around one eighth of our employment, 6,000 jobs, is in tourism,’ Mr Enright stated. ‘It’s one of our most important sectors. While Wexford does get a lot of overseas visitors, the domestic market is very important here and that’s something we’ll be looking at.’
‘The goal of the taskforce is to look at how we can get the industry back up and running nationally,’ he said, speaking after the group’s formation was announced. ‘We will consult with the sector and find out what they feel needs to be done and what measures can be put in place. If Irish people are not going abroad on foreign holidays as much, then we need to push for them to stay in Ireland and places like Wexford are the ideal choice.’
Mr Enright feels that with more people seeking a staycation this year, Wexford is perhaps well placed to capitalise and offset some of the major losses that Covid-19 has caused. ‘I suppose we will look towards different markets,’ he said. ‘It’s a medium term plan for the next two to three years that we’ll hopefully present to the Minister, giving an idea of how to re-activate the tourism sector. For Wexford, I think we have so much going for us. The food is as good as anywhere. There’s lots to see and do. We get some of the best weather in the country and although it might not be the most dependable, there are very few things you can’t do in Wexford.’
As CEO of Wexford County Council, he’s determined that they will push to do all they can to support the tourism industry.
‘I think the likes of the greenway projects that we have coming up are going to be really important,’ he said. ‘We’ve also been looking to upgrading our tourist attractions like the National Heritage Park, the Dunbrody and Hook Head in a bid to make Wexford a really compelling destination.’
The new national taskforce had its first meeting last week via video-link and Mr Enright is keen to make the case for the Model County in particular.