|
|
Inishowen entrepreneur calls for positivity
09.01.09
THE promoter of one of
Inishowen’s biggest tourism success stories of
recent years - Santa’s Island and the Doagh Island
Famine Village - has insisted that tourism providers
need to be ready to be better than ever if they are
to attract visitors in 2009.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent this week, Pat
Doherty said that Santa’s Island had been a huge
success again in 2008, despite the fact that the
season had been shorter than last year. The last
Sunday in November did not fall until November 28.
“I suppose the biggest differences were that it was
harder to get people up for Mondays and Tuesdays and
less people were staying in the area overnight than
they had been in recent years.”
The hugely successful Santa’s Island has been
attracting thousands of visitors to North Inishowen
for years now and most visitors to the island in
2008 had booked their places well in advance.
“When we realised that there was less interest in
the Monday and Tuesday nights than in previous years
we compensated by putting on extra shows at the
weekend and thankfully it went well,” he said. |
Being adaptable is a
trait that tourism providers will need to
demonstrate in the coming months according to the
local entrepreneur who says there are still
positives to be gleaned from the current situation.
“The way I see things is that this is not as bad as
say the foot and mouth outbreak. We got no |
 |
warning of that and
there was nothing we could do really. At least we’re
getting a warning about this and now we know that if
we’re to keep people coming we’re going to have to
better than ever.”
While he admitted that the strength of the euro
against sterling could have an effect on visitor
numbers in the year ahead, he again suggested that
this may not be as bad for people here than some
might think.
“If sterling is strong then perhaps the visitors
will go to the North and it will be much easier for
us to attract them from there than it would be to
bring them from Kerry or Galway. There are more
plusses for people in the tourism trade than some
might think. The reality is the people will still be
there and people will still want holidays and
breaks, it’s up to us now to prepare, be better and
do what we need to do to bring people here,” he
concluded. (Inishowen
Independent) |
|
