Not as bad since the sixties – Tourism

Leading south Donegal based Tourism operator Sean McEniff says that the tourist season in Donegal has not been as bad since the 1960s.
He said that the figures reflected the overall economic situation in the country and that people had less money to spend.
He also noted that the advent of the backdoor system of the GAA championship had also affected numbers coming to the county.
“It is of no asset to us either and it is costing them an absolute fortune to Dublin,” he told the Donegal Post.
Everyone that he had spoken to, had said that they have had a poor season.
But Bundoran, his pride and joy, had ridden the waves somewhat better – but only because of a recent marketing initiative.
“We have been able to do fairly better, largely because we spent about €200,000 on marketing. It has paid a lot of dividends.
“The recent concerts were a huge asset to Bundoran and we have a number of festivals coming up, including a surfing festival, a Celtic festival and an Elvis impersonation festival.”
Mr McEniff said that for some of these events the town was already totally booked.
“A lot of it is about events and we are creating these events in Bundoran. And they are being helpful l to the overall numbers in the towns, there is no doubt about that.”

Reporter: Michael McHugh