‘Elevated’ garden planned for city in tourism drive

THE hanging gardens of Babylon could be coming to Cork.

The Irish Examiner has learnt Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with Cork City Council, is in talks to permanently locate a most unusual “elevated” garden in the city centre in the hope it will turn out to be a major tourist attraction.

The garden is being designed by Diarmuid Gavin and will be unveiled at the Chelsea Flower Show, which will be held in London from May 26-28.

Part of the garden contains a pod, which can be lifted above the rest of it by a crane, offering visitors the most unusual horticultural experience.

It will contain a lot of flora and fauna synonymous with the Munster area.

The information came to light yesterday, as Fáilte Ireland held two tourism briefings to industry interests in Cork and Skibbereen.

Shaun Quinn, its chief executive, said indications are that 2011 would be the year for tourism in Cork to improve with prospects hinging more than ever on the performance of the overseas markets as the home market has effectively peaked.

He emphasised that everyone in tourism in Cork will need to work closer together to identify all opportunities for growth and maximise their potential.

“There are some positive signs in some of our key markets, particularly Europe and the US, and business sentiment about future prospects has improved slightly,” Mr Quinn said.

He added that further investment in the tourism sector in Cork will continue this year with plans to announce funding for a series of maritime and walking projects under Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism Capital Infrastructure Programme.

Mr Quinn said Fáilte Ireland will be working very closely with Cork County Council and other stakeholders to assess the potential of Spike Island as a tourist attraction and is fully committed to ensuring that the tourism potential of this unique asset is capitalised upon.

Fiona Buckley, head of operations for Fáilte Ireland South West, said a key focus for Cork will be the development of the food, cultural and maritime tourism markets with particular focus on establishing Cork as the country’s leading food destination.

“To date a number of familiarisation trips have already been confirmed for overseas trade and journalists to visit Cork, including European journalists visiting Cork’s coast food trails and the west Cork islands and a group of overseas travel writers coming from the USA,” she said.