More indoor attractions would improve county tourism - Hayes

Judging is underway for the awards Tourism Awards 2022.

Local businesses in the tourism sector are expected to at least hold their own in the face of difficult trading conditions. That’s the view of the County Tourism Officer. “There are many businesses doing a lot of really nice things in trying to pivot in terms of their business offering,” marvelled Joanne Hayes when speaking to the Celt.

The County Tourism Office is one of the main sponsors of the Cavan Business and Tourism Awards 2022, and Ms Hayes is looking forward to the best businesses in the county showcasing their innovative offerings. Entries are closed now, and judging is underway for the awards, which are set to be conferred on December 1 in the Slieve Russell Hotel, Ballyconnell.

The sector has emerged from the Covid pandemic, and now faces the challenges of higher operating costs and a public with diminished disposable incomes. Despite the considerable challenges ahead, there’s opportunities too. It’s conceivable the squeezed incomes could see people choose to holiday in Ireland.

“We did see during Covid, Cavan got real bounce when the lockdown ended. A lot of businesses saw customers coming to the county that they wouldn’t ordinarily see.

“Cavan became the second or third holiday - after they had done the more traditional tourism destination. Much of this was on the strength of the really strong hotels we have in the county - they do a great job in attracting visitors in their own right.”

While Ms Hayes considers Cavan hosts enough attractions to engage visitors for four to five days, the Tourism Office is eager for the county to “develop more product”.

“In the council we are all the time looking at product development. We’re looking at mainly the outdoor recreational side of things - we can influence the development of walks, greenways and forest parks, linking in with agencies such as Coillte, Inland Fisheries Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. Then we rely on the private sector to come in and invest in restaurants, hotels and other facilities in the county. They do that really well but we would love to see more in the line of visitor attractions. That’s really where we need more product.”

She notes a number of local indoor attractions such as the County Museum and St Kilian’s Heritage Centre in Mullagh, and would love to see more.

“More things for people to do indoors on rainy days would be great,” she says.

Development

In the meantime the Tourism Office continues to develop ambitious outdoor offerings county wide. The Masterplan for Dún a Rí Forest Park, which includes short, medium and long term developments, has recently been completed by Paul Hogarth Company and will be launched ahead of Christmas.

“There’s a lot of positive things happening around Dún a Rí Forest Park,” Ms Hayes observes. “The new national play area [in Dún a Rí] will be ready to be developed in the first half of 2023 as well. The contract has been awarded on that outdoor play area.

“Meath County Council are making a lot of progress on the Boyne Valley Greenway [Navan to Kingscourt] and they are working on securing funding to complete that from Dún a Rí to Kingscourt, so there will be a trail head on that Greenway. It will start/finish in Dún a Rí Forest Park, so that will be another boost for the Kingscourt area as well.”

In west Cavan, the Shannon Pot project, to develop the isolated location where the River Shannon rises, has progressed to design stage. A project manager and design team have been appointed.

“It will be another couple of years before we see any work on the ground yet, but it’s definitely making progress.”

The county town too is set to enjoy enhancement works under the Destination Towns project.

“We expect to see a new heritage town trail for the entire town, and new public realm outside the Townhall in the first half of 2023 as well.”

Fáilte Ireland funding will help visitors more easily access Cavan Town’s highlights.

“This project will take in the heritage assets around the town and bring them to life through nice contemporary interpretation and directional signage,” explained Ms Hayes.