This article is from page 20 of the 2005-11-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
SOME 300 delegates from all over Ireland and Europe will descend on Ennistymon later this month for the 17th annual SET eM Kees Oencouoleer
The conference, which is or- ganised by the Clare Tourism Council in conjunction with Clare County Council, takes place in the Fall’s Hotel from November 24 to the 26.
The conference, which will be chaired by north Clare County Councillor, Flan Garvey, is the only one of its kind in the Republic and of- fers interested parties the op- portunity to come along, plan and discuss how tourism can be developed and marketed in Ireland. This year’s con- ference will focus on quality and value for money in Irish tourism and is entitled *Posi- tioning Tourism – Quality or Price?’ “Everyone who talks about tourism in Ireland at the moment the first thing the mention is the price. Some
will say it’s too high and some will say it’s good value but value for money is a big thing,” said Paddy Maher of the Clare Tourism Council.
“One major thing is the idea of over regulation that we have here in Ireland. We will be discussing whether things gave gone over board com- pletely or whither we on track 2 UO0 NON Smee
The conference will open on Thursday evening with a spe- cial presentation for the win- ners of this years tidy towns competition.
After winning the national title, Ennis will be the central attraction for this but Ruan will also receive an award for being the most improved vil- lage in the county this year.
The main business of the
conference will begin on Sat- urday when the lectures will commence. Topics include; Tourism as an Economic Generator, Tourism and the Environment and Compet- ing through People. After the lectures the floor will be open to a question and answers ses- sion for all the delegates.
The Clare Tourist Council organised its first national
tourism conference in 1989. This two day event took place in the West County Hotel in Ennis and was called ‘The Tourism Explosion – Implica- tions for Ireland’.
Atl MERCO)INKoneICcmEEENCOMmE IETS foundations for future the conferences and over the years they began to attract more and more people from a wider spread of locations.
The annual conference has grown so much that not only does it help inform local peo- ple about best tourism practic- es, it also has become a valu- able revenue for the area with some 300 delegates and their families offering a boost to north Clare in the off season.
“The conference has been based in Ennistymon for the last number of years and we are very happy with the facili- ties on offer there,’ continued Mr Maher. It has a direct ef- fect on tourism in the area and could contribute as-much- as €250,000 over the three or Ane