Kieran’s Comments to the Chamber, Cork City Council Meeting, 6 December 2010

On Cork City’s tourism strategies:

“I would like to thank Hilary Creedon and her team at Fáilte Ireland on the Grand Parade for the development of the I-walk packages listed in the report. I was there at the launch in August and it’s great to see such initiatives being developed. I know as well she is open to other trails being produced and because the technology is now in place, more thematic trails for Iphone products will be developed.

However despite the fact that we invest the bones of E.650,000  in tourism promotion, I still think we are underselling ourselves. What is becoming more apparent on the ground is that the few individuals running the tourism side in Cork are just about coping with administrative duties and a few projects that seem not to have the enormous impact they should have. Then we have various festival groups who don’t seem to have access in promoting themselves on a regional and national level. There seems to be an enormous need to strengthen the number of people creating joined up tourism strategies for the city.

I’m not overly happy with how we harnessed the Lonely Planet accolade this year. I would like to know early next year, what effect it did have on our city’s economy. I’m still not happy with the gateway points in the city – and how they don’t give information on the city. At the airport at a number of times during the summer, I noticed the cellotaped Lonely Planet Accolade sign in the baggage reclaim hall, which is now taken down. We create and invest in 100 days of festivals in the city per annum and that’s the best we can muster in our airport is a cellotaped banner on a pillar.We are underselling ourselves.”

I see that Belfast the third city in Ireland has stepped up its game and has put posters up on some of the city’s hoardings. I hope for the sake of our tourism market that we have posters up in their city. Great to see how Belfast people are competitive in their tourism market – great to see their ambition and determination to not only get people there but to channel them through their shopping and cultural districts. If we are the second city and they are the third, what is our response going to be or maybe Cork is interested in being the third city?”