This article is from page 28 of the 2008-10-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 28 JPG
FOCUS in the mid-west needs to be on positive developments which the region has seen and building on those successes, the new mid-west president of IBEC says.
Despite a disastrous year for tour- ism, the Cityjet Shannon to Charles deGaulle route is so successful that the airline is planning to double it’s capacity and everything that can be done to boost tourism in the region must be done. This was the key mes- sage delivered by incoming presi- dent, Dr Maria Hinfelaar at the AGM of the regional body last week.
‘It has been an extremely difficult tourism season. The number of tour- ists on the ground and the level of spend and income in the region is down on last year. The region has witnessed a significant drop in bed nights with US golf business to the region down significantly. There is little doubt that access to Ireland, particularly for US visitors through Heathrow was very beneficial to the region and we have lost significantly there,’ Dr Hinfelaar said.
“In the midst of all these impeding factors, everything possible must be done to protect the industry. There are a number of positive develop- ments regionally, which give rise to
optimism for the future,” she said, pointing to the success of the twice daily Cityjet service.
But while it is recognised that this connection to Charles de Gaulle “is a major achievement more connectiv- ity is needed. We know that Shannon Airport and its partners are work- ing hard to achieve this and given the current difficulties in the airline industry this will be a challenging task,’ she noted.
Upbeat about the future of the re- gion, Dr Hinfelaar said, ‘We are looking forward to Shannon becom- ing the first airport in Europe with full US pre-clearance facilities. It will give us a unique and competitive advantage, which must be capitalised on,’ Dr Hinfelaar added.
The IBEC president also pointed to opportunities which could be de- veloped between Shannon and the Middle and Far East and the need to strengthen US relations.
“It is time to focus on what we have; several of Ireland’s top attrac- tions, major industrial players and educational institutions are based here. A positive attitude is needed and is one that will pay dividends,” Dr Hinfelaar said.