Clare County Council has welcomed the establishment of the Tourism Recovery Taskforce announced by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin.
The Mayor of Clare, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy, said: “The taskforce is critical to ensuring that the tourism sector survives and emerges from this crisis ready for business. Tourism in Clare will be a key instrument to aid the economic recovery of our county.”
Chief Executive of Clare County Council, Pat Dowling, said the scale of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Clare and on all of Ireland is going to require a concerted ‘Ireland’ response.
Clare County Council is working to help inform the support responses, and will play an active role in their delivery in whatever way possible.
In recent weeks, Clare County Council has supported the ‘An Bhoireann’ TG4 television series, which takes viewers on a journey through the austere beauty of the Burren. The Golf Channel has confirmed that, in light of the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open not proceeding, the four days of the 2019 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted in Lahinch will be re-run this week (May 28-31). Iconic imagery of Clare will be beamed across North America.
https://www.facebook.com/theclareherald/videos/290246342370291/
Commenting on the work of Clare County Council and Clare Tourism to promote Clare at a time when people are being asked not to travel, Deirdre O’Shea, Head of Tourism (Acting), said: “Because people cannot travel to Clare at this time, we want to bring Clare to them.
“Conscious of the negative impact that this crisis is having on the Clare tourism industry, Clare County Council and Clare Tourism have produced a video titled ‘Dream of Clare’ encouraging everyone in the county to remind people around the globe of why Clare is amazing. We want people to dream of Clare for now, and to travel to see us when it is safe to do so. This initiative is titled ‘Let’s Share Clare with the World’.”
In addition to the video production, Clare Tourism has developed a trade blog on the Visit Clare website, with free resources and promotional collateral for the tourism industry to share on their own websites and social media platforms. Deirdre O’Shea added that Clare Tourism is also developing a virtual tour of Loop Head Lighthouse, which is especially symbolic given that the lighthouse is a beacon of hope.
In recognition of the requirement for enhanced tourism products within the county, there are three significant capital projects continuing, including renovations to Loop Head Lighthouse, Vandeleur Walled Gardens and design plans for the visitor experience for the Council-owned Inis Cealtra (Holy Island). Reflecting the virtual world that we are now accustomed to, a Zoom background image capturing the monastic beauty of Inis Cealtra (Holy Island) on Lough Derg in east Clare is among the resources available at: https://www.clare.ie/claretradeblog
Once travel resumes, the message from Clare Tourism will change to newly themed ‘Visit Clare’ advertisements. Clare County Council and Clare Tourism will continue to work with lead tourism agencies, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, as well as Clare’s tourism industry to bring about the recovery of tourism in the county.
In the meantime, the Clare Tourism Strategy 2030, which is being led by Clare County Council in conjunction with Shannon Heritage, has been reviewed in light of the Covid-19 impact on the tourism industry. It is now at an advanced stage of development and will be finalised and released before year end.