Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar has toured Roe & Co Distillery in Dublin 8 as drinks-related visitor centres across Ireland prepare for a stronger summer and start to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Details
The visit was hosted by Diageo, which owns Roe & Co Distillery, and Drinks Ireland, which represents drinks manufacturers and suppliers.
Drinks Ireland's #TogetherAgain campaign is celebrating the reopening of visitor centres and the wider hospitality sector, which will support tourism and the wider economy in the months ahead.
Irish drinks brands have created attractions catering to international and domestic visitors across the country. They cumulatively attracted more than million visitors in 2019, with 88% being from abroad. There were over one million visitors to Irish whiskey distilleries alone that year, including Roe & Co.
Drinks Ireland said that 2019 is a benchmark year for visitor centres, as they bounce back from COVID-19.
Statement By Diageo Ireland Managing Director
Diageo Ireland managing director Barry O'Sullivan stated, "We are delighted to welcome An Tánaiste to the Roe & Coe Distillery. Together with the Guinness Storehouse, these facilities and visitor centres are an important part of Dublin’s and Ireland’s tourism infrastructure. They also showcase some of our most iconic brands, together with the heritage and history that underpins them and of which we are extremely proud.”
Statement By Chair Of Drinks Ireland
Chair of Drinks Ireland and managing director and founder of The Shed Distillery of PJ Rigney in Co. Leitrim Pat Rigney stated, "Ireland's drinks visitor centres are vital for the economy of our cities, rural towns and villages across the country, and it's wonderful to be able to host domestic and international visitors again. These visitor attractions have a tremendous knock-on effect on local economies by increasing dwell time around the country and growing spend locally."
Statement By Drinks Ireland Director
Drinks Ireland director Patricia Callan stated, "We're delighted to host An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, to celebrate being #TogetherAgain as Ireland’s visitor centres and the wider hospitality sector continues to reopen and recover. It's been a challenging two years, but the drinks industry has proudly provided significant support to hospitality centres to ensure they could remain viable. Government support was also important in this regard."
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