Royal boost for country’s tourism

BRITAIN’S Queen Elizabeth is scheduled to visit the Rock of Cashel, and the Irish National Stud and confirmation of her intention to visit Cork will provide a welcome boost for some of the country’s most celebrated tourist attractions.

In a move approved by tourism and business chiefs, the queen will not remain in the Pale during her four-day state visit but will take a tour of what was once the seat of the Kings of Munster in Co Tipperary and, if speculation is correct, will visit the English Market in Cork city, as well as the Tyndall National Institute at University College Cork, a prestigious centre for research and development.

Conor Healy, chief executive of the Cork Chamber of Commerce, said the queen’s trip to Cork would benefit the economy: “Approximately three million British tourists visited last year putting €1m into the economy and the potential for much more exists with this visit. It is very important from a business perspective. The UK is by far Ireland’s biggest export market.