A tourism delegation led by Clare County Council and members of the Clare Tourism Advisory Forum will promote the banner county as a desirable visitor destination to over 120,000 festival goers at Milwaukee Irish Fest in Wisconsin this weekend.
Details
11 representatives of the local sector will showcase Shannon Airport and all that Clare has to offer in the centre of the festival village.
Ennis musician Mike Hanrahan of Stockton's Wing fame and local group Socks in the Frying Pan will be performing alongside dozens of other artists, including Dervish, Emma Langford, Eileen Ivers, Finbar MacCarthy and We Banjo 3. Some of the Visit Clare delegation will attend Mike Hanrahan's cookery demonstrations scheduled during the festival and hope to use the opportunity to promote some of Clare's locally produced Geofood.
The festival, which runs until Sunday 21 August, is also used by tourism agencies such as Fáilte Ireland and group tour companies as an opportunity to market Ireland.
Statements
Cathaoirleach of Clare Councillor Tony O'Brien said the purpose of the trip is to highlight Shannon Airport as a key gateway to the west of Ireland and to increase overnight bed stays in Clare through the promotion of all its attractions in all areas of the county.
The cathaoirleach continued, "This trip is all about the business, tourism and local government sectors working together to be proactive in how we directly market our county and the wider region to a wider audience. I am delighted to be able to lead the Clare delegation to Milwaukee and am confident that Clare will reap the benefits in 2023."
O'Brien added that plans have been put in place to meet with delegates from the nearby Consulate General of Ireland (Chicago) office and diaspora representative groups in the US midwest to further emphasise the ease of access to Co. Clare within the island of Ireland and to strengthen such international connections.
Deirdre O'Shea, head of tourism with Clare County Council, acknowledged that a Clare presence at the festival is key to capturing and increasing visitor numbers to the county at a time of increasing competition in the domestic and international tourism market.
"This week's promotional trip to the USA will help position Clare as a competitive and appealing destination to the North American market," O'Shea added. "We also look forward to engaging with group tour operators, Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland representatives with a view to positioning Clare to the forefront of all international marketing of the county for 2023."
Sean Lally, chair of the Clare Tourism Advisory Forum, commented, "Thousands of people from the US midwest and northeast regions have booked flights into Shannon Airport because of the Clare tourism delegation's presence at Milwaukee Irish Fest down through the years. We hope to build on this result this year by encouraging even more people to visit County Clare via Shannon Airport."
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