This article is from page 14 of the 2012-06-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
THE Shannon region is ideally placed to cash in on a new tourism boom coming all the way from China, provided the proper marketing structures can be put in place to attract visitors from the world’s fastest growing economy.
This potential for the region to place itself in the shop window for Chinese tourist traffic was showcased at a Shannon Chamber of Commerce seminar last week that brought together leading Chinese academics and Tourism Ireland’s head of developing markets.
The seminar – entitled ‘Chinese Tourism on the Move: Targeting the Affluent Chinese Consumer’ – was hosted by the Shannon College of Hotel Management and supported by Shannon Development, Shannon Airport Authority and Tourism Ireland.
“Ireland has Approved Designated Status with China, which means that groups such as summer/winter schools, business tourism and spe- cial interest groups can be targeted,” Tourism Ireland’s Jim Paul told the gathering.
“A starting point for the Shannon region would be to build visits around the Cliffs of Moher, which gained a lot of air time during the Chinese vice premier’s visit to Shannon earlier this year. Ireland is often confused with Iceland, but once ‘Riverdance’ and the Cliffs of Moher are mentioned, there is an instant association,” he added.
A post-seminar workshop, facilitated by Kevin Thompstone, of the Thompstone Group, and former chief executive of Shannon Development, selected a number of areas for follow up as a first-stage attempt to position Ireland and the Shannon region as a preferred destination for Chinese tourism.
A less-restrictive visa process, direct access to Ireland, a Chinesefriendly standard for hotels, and group membership of Tourism Ireland’s Country Club to facilitate inmarket visits are listed as tier-one action items.
“Described by Emeritus Professor, Management School of Asian Studies, UCC, Deirdre Hunt, as ‘pioneering in many ways for the fifty-fifty Irish Chinese contributions and the increased depth and richness of material presented’, the seminar is but a first-step by Shannon Chamber to tackle the issues which hinder positioning the Shannon region as an attractor of a new influx of visitors to the region, from a vast country with a kindred love of family, place and space,” said Helen Downes, chief executive of Shannon Chamber of Commerce.