No festive cheer as Cork and Kerry left out of tourism Christmas e-card
The seasonal greetings’ e-card from the all-Ireland tourism agency omits the entire south-west region.
A leading figure in the industry in Killarney — which dubs itself Ireland’s tourism capital — protested yesterday, claiming the exclusion of the south-west counties made no sense.
Kathleen O’Regan Sheppard said she was “astonished and very disappointed” that a map on the card, circulated through the internet, did not mention tourist mecca Killarney or the south-west region.
“The closest we get on the site is the Poulnabrone Dolmen, located in the heart of the Burren in north Clare some 100 miles north of Killarney,” said O’Regan Sheppard, a former director of Cork Kerry Tourism. “How could such a glaring omission give this advertisement any credibility?
“It is rather like marketing France without the Eiffel tower or Peru without the Inca Trail.”
She added: “It simply makes no sense.”
Ms O’Regan Sheppard, a former vice-president of the Irish Hotels’ Federation (IHF), said Killarney personified Ireland and Irish tourism.
“The music and background (with the card) is impressive. However, I am unashamed in saying, ‘No Killarney No Ireland’. It is as simple as that.”
Tourism Ireland spokesperson Sinead Grace said the map could not have images of every county in Ireland and it was decided to take one image from each of the country’s “super regions” for tourism.
If they took an image from every county, the map would look far too cluttered, she said.
Ms Grace also said when next year’s card was being designed, images would be rotated to include different areas.
“It should also be pointed out that the south-west is represented in other forms of communications and TV advertisements by Tourism Ireland,” she added.
The controversial e-card is titled, Seasons Greetings from Tourism Ireland, with images from six regions, including the North, on the map.
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