Seaside capital must land new custom

A TOURIST town, currently reaping the rewards of being a visitor magnet, has been warned not to rest on its laurels.

Jim Daly, who heads Clonakilty and District Chamber of Tourism, will shortly advise accommodation providers, restaurateurs and pub licensees in the area that a “fundamental shift in attitude towards marketing is required.”

A guesthouse provider, Mr Daly emphasised: “In order for Clonakilty to remain as a market leader in the local tourism industry, it will be necessary to move from the tried and tested methods of traditional marketing to a more diverse range of initiatives.

“In particular, I would like to see more emphasis being placed on the more academic style tourist who is interested in exploring the rich culture and unique history associated with the greater district that surrounds Clonakilty.”

Known as the beach capital of West Cork, the Clonakilty region has been attracting record numbers of visitors in recent years.

The chamber of tourism, an independent and voluntary body, uses various marketing tools to promote the town, which enhanced its profile over the past six years through its award winning achievements in national and international Tidy Towns’ and environment competitions.

The chamber, which consists of representatives from various business sectors in Clonakilty and district, also relies on the regional and national statutory tourism organisations.

Mr Daly, a Fine Gael county councillor, last year took over as chairman of the chamber of tourism.

His primary objective, he said, was to grow the chamber and this was certainly achieved as membership, which had fallen in the past few years, almost doubled in 2005.

Since its foundation, seven years ago, the chamber has been instrumental in the development of Clonakilty’s image as an attractive tourist destination.

“To maintain the vibrancy of Clonakilty town and district, it has been necessary to experiment, increasingly, with various marketing tools,” he said.

“In recent years, the make up of visitors to this attractive town has changed enormously with ever-increasing numbers enjoying short stay breaks.”

The wedding business in the town is a hugely underestimated source of revenue with enormous spin off’s for B&Bs, taxis and pubs in particular,” he said.

“I don’t believe that the people of Clonakilty realise the revenue yielded as a result of the superb quality of the services offered by the three leading hotels specialising in weddings here - Fernhill House, Dunmore House and the Inchydoney Lodge & Spa.”

The chamber will outline its plans for the year at its annual meeting on Monday, February 6 in the Quality Hotel, Clonakilty.

“Despite all the early season fears in 2005, Clonakilty had a satisfactory tourism season,” he said.

“There is always a fear that people will sit back and just wait for the tourists and weekend visitors to return.”

Mr Daly said there was also great potential for attracting corporate visitors to the region.

“I am of the opinion that Clonakilty, Rosscarbery and Courtmacsherry all boast facilities that could be maximised in the traditional off -season to attract corporate visitors via conferences, study trips and focus groups. This area is an undisputed scenic treasure but we must, as a chamber, collectively explore how best to sell Clonakilty and the District to the alternative markets.”

He added: “Anyone interested in joining the chamber and becoming involved in this challenging drive is invited to come along to the AGM.”