This article is from page 6 of the 2011-09-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
CONFIRMATION that the opening of Loophead Lighthouse as a visitor centre has been the story of the 2011 tourism year in Clare was heralded this week with the news that over 17,000 people have paid into the facility in the six weeks since it was opened to the public. The Clare People has learned that the new tourism venture at Clare’s most westerly tip has netted over € 50,000 in revenues since it was opened to the public on July 18 last – a huge surge of numbers and revenues that has prompted the project promoters to keep the facility opened for a further month.
The lighthouse was due to close on Sunday last, September 4, but will now remain open for the rest of the month as tourism in West Clare reaps the benefits of opening of the facility to the public that was two years in the making after it was first suggested by way of a motion to Clare County Council by Loophead councillor Gabriel Keating in July 2009.
The opening of the lighthouse to visitor traffic for the first time in its 117-year history is a pilot project being pioneered by Clare County Council in conjunction with Loophead Tourism, Shannon Development and the Commissioners of Irish lights.
Traffic figures secured by The Clare People this week have revealed that over 17,000 people have paid € 3 a head to visit the tower of the lighthouse helping push revenues past the € 50,000 mark while over 20,000 have grounds of the Commissioners of Irish Lights owned facility.
“We believe this is another major step in enhancing West Clare’s tourism product offering,” said Shannon Development’s tourism officer Siobhan King said this week.
“Our work on the Loop Head Lighthouse project is part of a range of initiatives that we have undertaken this year in West Clare which include new loop walks in Lissycasey and Kilkee, with more proposals in the pipeline. We look forward to welcoming an increased number of visitors to the area,” she added.