Tourism drive to lure visitors to mid-west

OVERSEAS visitors to the mid-west spend less and have briefer stays than visitors to any of the seven tourism regions, according to Fáilte Ireland.

Figures released by Fáilte Ireland show that overseas visitors to the mid-west spend €261 on average.

The corresponding figures for the other regions are Dublin (€316), midlands east (€320), south-east (€275), south-west (€413), west (€368) and north-west (€334).

The mid-west also fares worst when it comes to bed nights, with visitors staying on average 3.7 nights.

The comparable figures for the other regions are: Dublin (4.7), midlands east (4.6), south-east (4.0), south-west (6.0), west (5.3) and north-west (4.9).

Fáilte Ireland has pledged e9 million this year for marketing, providing business supports, training and backing Shannon Development, which is responsible for mid-west tourism.

Management consultants Mayday have been engaged by Fáilte Ireland to set up a network of six workshops for people in the tourism industry throughout the region.

Work will begin immediately, with groups of 25 people being brought together at the six locations.

A Mayday spokesman said: “Participants in the mid-west regional network can expect to improve their business performance in 2006, get greater visibility in the marketplace, increase their productivity, achieve higher standards, better customer value and greatly increase confidence in their management skills.”

Tourism Ireland, which promotes tourism abroad, plans to link the mid-west, west and north-west into one region for promotional purposes.

Tourism Ireland chief executive Paul O’Toole said: “The campaign will highlight the attractions of the areas, ease of access and the good value packages from the industry to consumers in the key markets of Great Britain and Europe.”