Tourism body under fire after RTÉ reporter urged to leave city

BUSINESS and tourism leaders in Cork launched a stinging attack on the region’s tourist promotion board last night after a major blunder.

A staff member in the Regional Tourism Authority’s (formerly Cork Kerry Tourism) Cork office told an RTÉ reporter he’d be better off heading to Killarney.

Cork Business Association (CBA), the Irish Hotels’ Federation (IHF) and Cork Chamber reacted furiously.

CBA spokesman James O’Sullivan said his members were livid. Cork Chamber said they were “horrified and dismayed” at the incompetence.

The Cork branch of the Irish Hotel’s Federation (IHF) described it as an insult and are seeking an urgent meeting with the tourism body.

Prominent hotelier John Gately, who is investing €20 million revamping the Country Club, also reacted angrily.

Morning Ireland’s John Murray is touring the country as part of a focus on tourism.

He arrived in Cork on Tuesday and contacted the city tourist office for advice on what do to and see while in the city and county.

But, he told listener’s to yesterday morning’s show, he was advised to catch an Elvis tribute show at the Opera House, which finished last week.

He then said he was told he’d be better off visiting Killarney. Mr Murray eventually arrived in Gougane Barra after getting a tip over coffee about the play, The Tailor and Ansty.

He was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Mr O’Sullivan said the message from the tourist office reinforced his members’ perception of how badly the tourism body was representing Cork city.

“We have been saying for a long time that we lacked confidence in the former Cork Kerry Tourism as a unit,” he said.

“It has tended to be very Kerry-orientated. This has simply rubber-stamped what we’ve been saying for years.

“It really sticks in my craw that Cork City Council gave them a €100,000 grant to promote the city.”

IHF Cork branch chairman Aidan Moynihan said his members were furious at what he called an “insult”.

“It is completely unacceptable from the people charged with promoting our city and county,” he said.

Mr Gately, a prominent member of the IHF, said he was disgusted.

“It just beggars belief how this organisation can continue,” he said.

“We’ve been calling for the past two years for evidence of a marketing plan for the city and county.”

Cork Chamber chief executive Conor Healy said, “It is not acceptable that the organisation responsible for marketing activities and providing basic information [in response] to straightforward tourism queries undertakes its business in such a slipshod manner.”

Fine Gael TD Bernard Allen, who organised a meeting for the city’s tourism interests last January, also criticised the blunder.

“I was criticised by Cork Kerry Tourism in January for organising this meeting. I was told it was a slur on the body,” he said.

“This is not the body that should be marketing Cork. Cork should activate itself or be bypassed by tourists.”

The Regional Tourism Association’s acting chief executive, Fiona Buckley, was investigating the matter last night.

She said she was happy that proper staff recruitment, training and tourist information procedures were in place.

“However it is very clear that this matter has arisen from the ‘human factor’ of customer service. Somebody made a momentary mistake,” she said.

“This was an unfortunate error of judgment on the part of one staff member, but it is also very important to bear in mind that such errors happen very rarely.”