It’s claimed Clare has a wealth of visitor opportunities at it’s fingertips just waiting to be applied.
Over 200 local hospitality tourism operators have attended a conference of national industry experts in Dromoland to outline how this county can overcome it’s unique sectoral challenges.
The ‘Together for Tourism’ event was organised by Visit Clare and featuring high on the agenda was the 13.5% hospitality vat rate and the acute shortage of visitor beds.
In conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, the local authority has recently completed an audit of available tourist accommodation here and the preliminary findings indicate the need for an increased provision of self-catering and mobile home facilities.
Clare’s Tourism Director believes that refurbishing vacant units to create village accommodation hubs and the creation of a digital pass, so visitors can avail of multiple destinations in the county at a discounted rate will be vital to increase footfall.
Corofin native Leonard Cleary insists many beneficial projects are in the pipeline.
A travel expert has warned though that Clare needs to set it’s wheels in motion to provide more experience based accommodation.
As 2,606 hotel beds here are currently occupied by Ukrainian Refugees, local hospitality providers are scrambling to produce alternative options for tourists.
In December, the local authority passed a proposal that would enable suitable farms and costal lands to set up a maximum of two serviced glamping pods on their lands for visitor use.
Travel Editor with the Irish Independent, Pól O’Conaghaile says the scheme must be expedited to open up Clare to new markets.
A team of researchers from the Atlantic Technological University are currently spearheading efforts that would see county Clare gain global recognition as a sustainable destination.
Their findings so far, show that 97% of visitors are satisfied with their experience in the county and that 43% make a return trip.
The data also shows that overnight visitors are staying here for an average of 2.6 days and spending €145 in that time, while day-trippers are spending just €64.
Doctoral Researcher at ATU Sligo, Fiona McKenna says that the impact of tourist traffic on residents must be addressed to ensure locals and consumers benefit from the county’s offering.
You can listen to the full interview here:
