This article is from page 4 of the 2007-07-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
BUSINESSES in north and west Clare stand to lose millions in rev- enue due to bad weather over the summer periods.
Expert insiders claim that tourism numbers have already dropped by as much as 25 per cent in coastal areas this year, while numbers in Ennis and Shannon are reportedly on a par
to last year’s figures.
‘The impact could be as much as 25 per cent year-on-year. The de- crease is in the domestic market, the people have just not been coming,” said Michael Vaughan of Vaughan’s Lodge in Lahinch.
“It’s a problem from Kilkee right up to Lahinch, Liscannor and Bally- vaughan. It is hitting the hotels, the restaurants and the holiday homes.
In living memory, I cannot remem- ber a summer as bad as the one we are having.”
Indeed, the poor numbers holiday- ing in the west have seen a number of hotels being forced to drop their rates, despite large increases in ex- penditure due to inflation and in- creased fuel charges.
“I don’t think people are being let go yet. But extra people are not be-
ing taken on in the same way as they would in other years,’ continued Mr Vaughan.
“The CSO figures show that the people between 35 years and 45 years are not holidaying in Ireland and that is the sector who we are missing on the ground.
“It is thought that people in this age group may not be coming on holidays because of the increases in mortgage interest rates.
“I don’t think that this will have a long-term effect on the tourism product in Clare. It is an industry of swings and roundabouts, things op- erate on a cycle and will usually level themselves off over the course of a year or a few years.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Clare Tourism Forum told