Poor tourist season could cost jobs warns councillor Johnny McGuinness

A poor tourist season coupled with a lack of promotion of the Inishowen Peninsula could affect many businesses in the months ahead.

That was the bleak forecast from Fine Gael councillor, Johnny McGuinness at Tuesday's meeting of the Inishowen Municipal District in Carndonagh.

He also slammed Donegal County Council and Failte Ireland for their poor promotion of the area and called for immediate redressing of this situation and questioned the value of the council's recent annual promotional trip to the Irish Festival in Milwaukee, USA adding he had never met anyone from Milwaukee in Inishowen.

Cllr McGuinness said businesses in Inishowen had come through one of the poorest tourist seasons for a long time.

"This time last year you could have gone to any of the harbours in Inishowen and you would have difficulty launching a boat because there were so many families visiting from all over the place. You could drive an artic lorry down the slips this year because there was nobody there and no one on the beaches."

He added the financial shortfall for businesses would hit hard.

"Every single ratepayer that relies on tourism which props up this county and wonderful peninsula is probably down been €50,000 to €100,000 and that isn't profits, that's the money they require to get through the lean months between now and Christmas and beyond."

He said many were now staring into an October-November electricity bill of €11,140 and wondered where that money was going to come from to cover it.

"It's not a joke anymore. We are not being promoted in the tourism markets, it's as simple as that.

"We haven't had any movement on our signature point at Malin Head, Bamba's Crown. It's like Groundhog Day. We've been talking about this for over a decade, maybe more. It's all talking, going around in circles like a merry-go-round. Nothing is being progressed and some of the fault for that lies with Donegal County Council and some with Fáilte Ireland for its lack of enthusiasm to drive the project forward.

"It's now got to the embarrassing situation where they have announced the development of Dunree and it will probably be talked about ten years from now as well. What is the problem here? Why is there no Fáilte Ireland representative here at this meeting to answer our questions? Are we going to support tourism on this peninsula or not? Is Inishowen Tourism going to get the financial backing it needs? Will it become a part of Donegal Tourism which I think is the proper way forward and be part of the overall offering."

Milwaukee

Referencing a report from earlier in the meeting about the council's annual trade mission to an Irish festival in Milwaukee, USA Cllr McGuinness questioned the value of such a trip.

"I've yet to meet one person from Milwaukee anywhere in Inishowen in all my life. Does anybody in Milwaukee travel? Do they even take a pint, where do they go? It should be called  'Milmissingwaukee' - they're not to be found anywhere. I would like to know who goes on these junkets and what the measurable benefit has been as a result of these trips. We hear about them after the fact but the fact remains I've never met anyone from Milwaukee in my life and that's a good enough yardstick for me, " he said.

The Moville councillor said he was also upset at the fact the council's economic division opened up new facilities in Buncrana five weeks ago but he was disappointed, as an elected representative from north Inishowen, that he was not invited to attend or aware it was taking place.

"What are we doing here, who is running this county or this peninsula? Who do I need to beg to become part of the tourism activity that should be taking place? Who do we need to lobby to have Inishowen promoted appropriately? What does it take because as a business owner, we won't be here and when we're not here who is going to pay your rates? And when you have no rates who is going to develop what needs to be financially supported, the whole thing's a joke, an absolute disgrace. There are many jobs at risk going into the winter season and I can support that with financial proof with year-on-year comparisons. Every small business, even the non-rate paying businesses of which we have many, had a bad year and when your non-rate paying businesses had a bad year there's not much hope for the rest of us."

Other councillors also vented their frustration at the current tourism crisis.

Cllr Paul Canning said he wanted to see numbers for tourists travelling outside Donegal Town adding figures should be produced to show how many were actually coming to their area.

Cllr Martin McDermott (above) said tourism was something they had to take a long look at this year.

"I've talked to a number of businesses, particularly in north Inishowen over the past three weeks and they have highlighted the lack of visitors this summer. Some of that is down to the lack of bed nights and the fact a lot of our Airbnb and accommodation is being taken up by Ukrainian families who have come to the area.

"These businesses depend on the five to six weeks of the summer to keep them going throughout the rest of the year. Different areas such as Malin, Malin Head, Carndonagh and Moville have experienced a massive drop in tourism this year and particularly in people staying overnight. If they are not staying they are not spending money.

"It's a major problem for Ballyliffin Golf Club. They found it an exceptionally challenging year as people were not able to stay about to play golf. They lost  a lot of people and groups who could not get accommodation in the area."

The councillor said he felt Inishowen was being neglected by Donegal Tourism the unit within Donegal County Council that is responsible for marketing the county as a tourism destination to both the domestic and international markets.

"There needs to be a lot more collaborative working as sometimes it feels like Inishowen is out on its own. The southern part of the county from Donegal Town to Letterkenny is being sold as Donegal but it's not, there's a bigger part north of that that doesn't get the tour buses.

"One official said at a  meeting a while back that discussions were taking place to get these buses to come up but the fact he was having such conversations is a clear indication to me that it wasn't happening. This is worrying for the peninsula and particularly north Inishowen. We don't get what the rest of the county gets."

He predicted Inishowen businesses that depended on tourism would struggle in the coming months and urged action to improve matters for next year.

"We have to see how we can turn things around. A lot of those businesses might be able to sustain that for one year but certainly not going into the future."

Cllr Albert Doherty (above) slammed the recent Government decision to increase VAT which, he claimed, would have a major effect on the cost of living, fuel and hospitality, all of which would have a major effect on Inishowen businesses.

"We need to look east to the Causeway Coast and Glens and the tourism on our doorstep in places like Derry."

Cllr Martin Farren also voiced concerns at the lack of tourists and accommodation in Inishowen this summer.

"We must look to make sure there are accommodation alternatives next year so people can stay overnight."

He said they also ought to explore why large buses were able to come in from Derry and take visitors from cruise liners docked in Greencastle away from the area.

"Is there anything we can do to encourage them to explore parts of Donegal? This has been ongoing for quite some time.  My understanding is the breakwater at Greencastle harbour will be completed by the end of October so hopefully, we can find ways to encourage visitors to stay in our peninsula."

The meeting was told all concerns would be brought to the relevant council sections.