Tourism Ireland board meet in Doneraile
IN A FIRST for Doneraile, and indeed the North Cork region, the executive of Tourism Ireland selected the impressive Creagh House in the heart of the village as the venue for its October board meeting last Thursday.
The move was a major coup for Doneraile, given that the board usually holds its meetings with Dublin or Belfast or, on occasions, one of the traditionally more iconic Irish tourism locations such as Galway or Killarney.
In fact, this was the first time that the board had ever held one of its meetings in one of the lesser known tourism locations, testament to the growing popularity of nearby Doneraile Park, which in recent years has developed into one of the country’s most popular non-paying tourist attractions.
It was apt that board members spent two days in Doneraile, spending last Wednesday touring the park and recently reopened ground floor of the stately Doneraile Court building as well as sampling the culinary delights of the local Townhouse Cafe and the Springfort Hall Hotel.
Speaking after Thursday’s board meeting Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said the executive were very impressed with what they had seen during their visit to Doneraile.
“We were delighted to be in Cork for this month’s board meeting and to have the chance to meet with representatives from the local tourism industry and hear directly how their business is doing,” said Mr Gibbons.
“It also gave us the opportunity to discuss the extensive promotional programme that Tourism Ireland is undertaking around the world this year to promote Cork, and the island of Ireland, to prospective visitors,” he added.
Mr Gibbons was keen to point out that Cork’s spectacular scenery; rich heritage and history; world-class visitor attractions (including Doneraile Park) and the many events held locally featured prominently in Tourism Ireland’s global promotional package.
“We profile Cork and the Wild Atlantic Way extensively on our global suite of websites,
Ireland.com, which attracted more than 20 million visitors in 2018. Cork is also highlighted through Tourism Ireland’s social platforms – to its 4.4 million active Facebook fans and 523,000 followers on Twitter,” he said.
“In 2018 for example, Tourism Ireland helped generate almost €77.5 million worth of positive publicity for Cork city and county in key markets around the world, through press releases, press visits, e-newsletters and various media events,” said Mr Gibbons.
However, he said the board was aware that the Irish tourism sector was facing certain challenges, key among them the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
“The latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures for January to September 2019 indicate a very mixed picture – with growth of just 2.2 per cent in overseas arrivals,” said Mr Gibbons.
“The uncertainty around Brexit is an ongoing challenge, giving rise to consumer concern in Britain and some mainland European markets. Our latest wave of Brexit research, carried out in Britain, France and Germany, indicates a heightened risk of consumers postponing trips due to that uncertainty,” he warned.