This article is from page 11 of the 2013-10-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
SEVENTEEN Clare tourism hotspots are to benefit from a share of the € 8 million which was allocated for the development of the Wild Atlantic Way.
These coastal locations, which stretch from Black Head and Fanore in North Clare to Carrigaholt and Scattary Island in West Clare, are all destinations on the new driving route, which will be officially launched next year.
It is unclear how the € 8 million will be allocated but a portion of the funding has been earmarked for the construction of new signage and other small infrastructure projects.
This funding, which is being made available from the sale of the National Lottery, has been welcomed by Lahinch hotelier and head of the Irish Hotel Federation, Michael Vaughan. Mr Vaughan also welcomed the maintenance of the 9 per cent VAT rate in the hospitality trade.
“There was widespread belief that the VAT rate was going to go up and that would have created a lot of difficulty in the industry, especially for the majority of companies who have already signed tourism contracts for next year. They would have been forced to absorb the cost of a VAT increase and a lot of them would not have been able to go it,” he said.
“This VAT rate has a wide impact on the industry. Golf is one area that it effects greatly and is key here in Clare. There are a lot of gold clubs out there who feel that they cannot charge any more for their green fees and to absorb the increase would cost them into the hundreds of thousands.
“The Wild Atlantic Funding is to be welcomed and I certainly hope that Clare will receive a big chuck of that money. This is certainly good news for tourism in the county,” said Mr Vaughan.
“Overall I think it was a generally pro-tourism budget. There were some negatives, like the additional duty on wine and beer and cuts to the tourism bodies, which come to about 5 per cent. But overall, we are hopeful for next year.”