This article is from page 2 of the 2012-06-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
THE UEFA European Championships seem to have had a negative impact on visitor numbers coming to County Clare, with a marked decrease in tourists coming to the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Centre since the start of the competition.
Despite a largely positive start to the year, numbers visiting the Cliffs of Moher have dropped by more than 10 per cent in June, coinciding with the start of the competition.
This could mean further bad news ahead as the London 2012 Olympics, which had been thought of as a means of attracting tourists to the county, could follow the same pattern and draw tourists away.
According to figures obtained by The Clare People , overall visitor numbers between January and May of this year have shown a 6 per cent increase on the previous year.
This increase has been driven largely by an increase in group tours.
“The outlook is still unclear and we are hoping that we will see a pick up in individual business when the school holidays in Ireland and across Europe arrive at the end of the month,” said Katherine Webster, Director of the Cliffs of Moher Visitors Experience.
“It is possible also that the European Championships are having a negative effect on visitor numbers, as European nationals stay at home to watch their teams or, if they do travel, it’s to Poland and the Ukraine.
“The growth so far this year is in the group tour business which is substantially up on last year. Individual visitors for the period of January to May are flat with 2011 for the same period.
“Our busiest season is June to September. So far, the month of June is slightly down on last year and, while group business is continuing to do well, the individual visitor numbers are more than 10 per cent down.”
Meanwhile, it seems that the decision to remove any charge for entering the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush is paying dividends. Visitor numbers attending the historic site have grown by between 10 and 15 per cent so far this year.
Visitors to the centre are normally charged € 5 per adult during the summer season. However, the decision was made this year to scrap the entry fee in an effort to attract more tourists and allow the centre to make up lost revenue from entry fees.
According to Susie Matjeha, who manages the walled garden, there has been a marked increase in visitor numbers since the fee was waved. Ea rly in d ic a t io n s fo r n e xt we e k a re fo r t e m p e ra t u re s t o g e t wa rm e r w it h su n sh in e o n t h e wa y – fin g e rs c ro sse d !