Tourism leaders in Kerry are seeking to have the Department of Tourism relocated to Killarney. They are to ask the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, to put the proposal to Cabinet. In a meeting scheduled to take place immediately before the Government meeting in Muckross House, Killarney, this morning, tourism representatives will tell Dr McDaid it is time for a major tourism body to be located in Ireland's premier tourist area outside Dublin.
"A number of previous ministers have been approached on the idea of relocating the Department of Tourism down here. However, there has never been a better time than now, with a heightened awareness of the value of tourism alongside the facilities e-commerce offers to relocation," Ms Kathleen O'Regan-Sheppard, chairperson of the Kerry County Tourism Committee, said.
Next year, Killarney will celebrate 250 years of its tourism industry and the Kerry County Tourism Committee will also ask Dr McDaid to hold the Bord Failte 2002 Travel Trade Workshop in Killarney, she said.
The Kerry County Tourism Committee is a Government-appointed body representing hotels, guest-houses, self-catering, Kerry County Council along with Shannon Development and Cork-Kerry Tourism.
The Killarney area alone receives around 1.5 million visitors annually, according to latest estimates, with earnings set at £300 million.
Losses to the industry because of foot-and-mouth have been variously estimated at up to £150 million. Businesses outside Killarney are thought to be worst affected. A direct cash injection for additional marketing, along the lines of the recent announcement of £250,000 for the tourism industry in the Cooley peninsula in Co Louth, is on the list of requests to be made to Dr McDaid by the Kerry tourism representatives.
It is the second year in a row the tourism industry in Kerry has been affected by events outside its control, Mr Declan Murphy, tourism officer for south Kerry, will tell the Minister. Last year's train strike meant crippling losses for small businesses in the area and extra funds for marketing would be a significant gesture, according to Mr Murphy.
Mr Jackie Healy-Rae, Independent TD for Kerry South, says he supports decentralisation of the Department of Tourism to Kerry. "This is the heart of tourism. There's so much tourism and so many facilities down here, it would be the most suitable place," he said.