Locals continue the Tourist Office fight
May 1994
Wexford’s seven Oireachtas members have been asked to support a move by Rosslare Harbour business people to keep Kilrane Tourist Office open this summer season.
A meeting of Rosslare business people last Wednesday night agreed to campaign against the closure of the office which was announced by SERTO last month.
SERTO decided to close the purpose-built Kilrane office this season and to upgrade their service in the terminal building at Rosslare to serve in its place.
However, the Rosslare Harbour Development Board have said that decision is ‘ridiculous’ and ‘a retrograde step’ in the promotion of tourism in Co. Wexford.
Carol O’Brien, chairperson of the Rosslare Harbour Development Board, said this week that if the plan goes ahead, there is a danger car passengers will have left Co. Wexford before getting any access to tourist information.
‘People coming off the ships in a queue of traffic will not drive round to park and go back into the terminal building. Then they will take the ring road at Wexford, and the next tourist shop is in New Ross. At that stage they are nearly out of the county,’ she said.
She went on to add that statistics show that a total of 52,000 people used the tourist offices in Kilrane and Rosslare Harbour in 1992. Out of these, 39,000 people used the terminal office, which is open all year round, and 13,000 used the Kilrane office, which is open four months of the year.
She also noted that the terminal office has a shop and any passing tourist who stops to buy a souvenir is counted as an enquiry even if they don’t actually seek any tourist information.
Other statistics showed that 3,900 bed nights were booked through the terminal building last year, while 3,300 were booked in Kilrane during its four-month season.
Ms. O’Brien stressed that the Rosslare Harbour Development Board were not waging a war against the terminal tourist office, rather that they want both offices operating. ‘We want an all-round service. Kilrane caters for car passengers while the terminal serves foot passengers,’ she said.