TOURISM DRIVE:ERRIS, IN NORTHWEST Co Mayo, this week became the latest remote corner of the country to launch a marketing initiative in order to attract more visitors. Another campaign, promoting Letterkenny as a gateway to the rest of Co Donegal, was launched by the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, last week.
The marketing drive for Erris, which was launched by Martin Cullen, Minister for Tourism, in Dublin, aims to attract widespread publicity. A new website, www.errisbeo.ie, is part of the promotion, which hopes to draw more visitors to the unspoilt area in spite of the global economic downturn and the controversey of the the Corrib gas project, which has dogged the area's profile in recent years.
"We are targeting the national market. The days of the Yanks are gone," says Ian Mac Aindriú, manager of Belmullet's art centre, Áras Inis Gluaire, one of the six companies that have grouped together to form Erris Beo, the area's new brand name.
"The Americans might stop coming, but playing golf is still big in Europe, and we are not that far from Knock airport," he says. Erris, he adds, is "a good holiday destination for families . . . It's a safe, clean environment, with a number of blue-flag beaches in the area".
Golf, sea angling, watersports, hillwalking and climbing attractions are among the features that are being marketed. "We are the hidden jewel, that's our selling point," says Mac Aindriú.