This article is from page 13 of the 2006-02-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
EUROPEAN tourists will not replace the expected loss of American visitors to Clare with the ending of the stopover, because they spend far less when they come here, new figures show.
American visitors spend an average of four times as much as European visitors when they visit Clare, according to the Tourism Ireland statistics.
Their research also shows that the Shannon region is bottom of the tourism league table, with visitors here spending an average of just €261 per visit. The sums are “a real cause for concern,” according to the Ennis Chamber of Commerce.
The new figures show that the spend in the Shannon region is down on every other part of the country, with overseas visitors spending €413 per average stay in the South West region and €368 and €334 in the Western and North Western regions respectively.
“There is a perception that European visitors will make up for any loss of trade from the US once the end of the stopover bites, but that’s not the case,” said Ennis Chamber CEO, Rita McInerney.
“It’s a fact that US visitors who come here stay longer and spend more in the region, particularly if they have roots here,” said Ms McInerney.
“These figures are a cause for concern and they show it is vitally important that we band together to market the region in the US.”
Ms McInerney pointed to research which showed that the top tourist destinations for US visitors were Bunratty, the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher and Killarney.
“Given their destinations, it makes sense that US visitors fly into Shannon instead of Dublin,” said Ms McInerney
“The problem is that in terms of distance, US visitors see Clare as being just down the road from Shannon. But with the infrastructure we have here, they don’t realise that they will lose six hours or more travelling from Dublin. We need to be very strong in marketing the advantages of flying into Shannon. The way in which Ireland is being sold abroad is detrimental to us,” Ms McInerney added.