*The Auburn Lodge is among the hotels full to capacity with refugees.
FÁILTE IRELAND’s accommodation audit for Co Clare has highlighted “a real problem area” in the scarcity of options for visitors to the county.
A potential shortfall of 160 hotel rooms, 120 B&B guest rooms and over 200 bed spaces in outdoor areas for campervans has been highlighted in the audit.
In a proposal before Clare County Council, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) asked that the findings, data and recommendations from the audit prompted the local authority to review the implementation of the Clare Tourism 2030 Strategy “with a view to our role in tackling the stark deficits in bed capacity and accommodation identified which are central to Clare’s economy benefiting from our dominant position in the area of successful attractions”.
He added, “I further call on Clare County Council to review impacts of our dominant position on small and medium local business across the county with a view to focus on regenerative approach to tourism to discriminate favourably towards sustainable local SME business and communities across our towns and villages”.
Challenges identified in the audit will receive a prioritised focus, Director of Tourism Development, Leonard Cleary stated. He said the next steps “are to identify key investment opportunities in tourism accommodation of all types for the county of Clare with the view to ensuring sustainable tourism development and delivery across the county.
Cleary said the role of the private sector was “key in responding to market demand for accommodation”.
Funded by Clare County Council, “a significant strategic marketing plan is planned within the third quarter of each year, ahead of the upcoming new year,” Cleary added. ‘Tourism Together in Clare’ has been the focus of this plan in 2023 and 2024. He acknowledged, “the tourism industry has been challenged significantly over the last number of years and working together is a much better solution than businesses working alone”.
In a further effort to promote Clare as a tourism destination, “there are two different national and international television programmes and documentaries being planned for the promotion of the county as well as national radio campaigns being planned and underway,” the Director added.
An approach to get “data driven decisions” was welcomed by Cllr Garrihy. “The proof will be in the eating, where I see the need is a welcome piece of work to try encourage additional beds to be provided, it is a challenging thing”. The Lisdoonvarna native said Clare was “facing serious competition” but that it possessed “real capacity and abilities”. The motion needs to be forwarded to Government so that it receives “tax incentives” or whatever means necessary to progress, he said.
Supporting the proposal, Cllr Pat McMahon (FF) remarked, “To the best of my knowledge there’s no hotels being built in Galway or Limerick. B&Bs have been left behind in the last 20 years, we need an overall look at the B&Bs that we have, the Government must put a special incentive in place for people to look at B&Bs”.
There is insufficient accommodation in the county, Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) maintained, “we know we have a problem”.
Potential for micro-tourism businesses around glamping was flagged by Cllr Shane Talty (FF) who admitted that he had to read Cllr Garrihy’s motion a few times to ascertain what he was asking for. “The planning side and economic development need to be involved, we’re talking about rural bed nights but the majority of industries that have come forward for sites for glamping have been refused”.
Shortage of bed nights and B&Bs was also highlighted by Cllr Pat Burke (FG). “Out where we are in East Clare, it is as nice an area as West Clare but you could count the number of B&Bs we have on one hand”. He noted that the hotel is closed in Mountshannon and what was a hotel in Scariff is now home to asylum seekers. “It is not easy to get people to get to stay in East Clare, my daughter had a gang of people looking to stay a night, she asked me where they could stay, I said I’d ask Leonard Cleary in the hope he might build a hotel for us,” he quipped. Burke added, “someone with a big cheque book is welcome in East Clare”.
Policies around planning need to be altered by the Government and relevant departments, Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) felt. “The area from Moylussa to 12 O’Clock Hills needs to be developed from a tourism perspective,” the Doonbeg woman asserted.
“It is dire at the minute with regard to accommodation, we’re looking for a hotel in Kilrush for a number of years. We had two hotels there, we recently lost another B&B, a number of tourism operators have pulled out of Kilrush,” lamented Cllr Ian Lynch (IND). A report has been done on tourism but not the needs of the private sector, he flagged. “This year is going to be very tough for tourism in West Clare,” he predicted.
Planning research for the Cliffs of Moher needs to be rolled out for the entire county because “it provides the data for an investor to see why they should come,” Cllr Cillian Murphy (FF) suggested. He said there is “a huge amount” of Air BnBs, self-catering units and holiday homes in the county.
Engagement is needed with private developers but the Council must also liaise with state agencies that have land, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) stated. With the Green Bus costing €10 a week to get into Limerick for students, this coupled with the rail network offers opportunities for Clare to use surrounding areas for student accommodation for the academic year and tourism accommodation for the summer season, he believed.
“It is an opportunity for families that might be interested in having guests to open up their homes,” Cllr Ann Norton (IND) suggested. Glamping is proving popular presently, the Barefield representative said.
