Sustainable tourism will be at the heart of Visit Cork's plan to recover from the pandemic and bring visitors back to the region.
Speaking at the event, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said "As a proud Corkonian, I know only too well the wonderful sights the region has to offer, and the warmth of its people. Tourism has so much to offer in supporting sustainable growth.
"The Government fully supports Visit Cork’s determination to drive job creation, economic development, and to ensure Cork remains a welcoming place for innovation, talent and tourists alike."
The plan comes as the region looks to recover and regain the employment level to 22,500, as seen pre-pandemic.
"Our plan is to showcase the wealth of Pure Cork experiences delivered with a new focus on Cork as a sustainable tourism destination. This positioning will open huge opportunities as sustainable holidays and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) business is expected to be one of the biggest future tourism trends," Seamus Heaney, Head of Visit Cork said.
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The aim is to improve Cork's GDS-Index score of 70%, the sustainability benchmark used globally, by working with the local hospitality industry on a subsidised third party sustainable accreditation programme.
Visit Cork will also host annual Smart Tourism seminar and training sessions, create a Cork Convention Bureau Member Sustainability Charter and the team will incentivise trade partners through a yearly Visit Cork Green Award.
There are also plans to continue the Visit Cork Green week which started in 2021.
Mr Heaney highlighted the need to get employment back during this recovery period, "Pre-pandemic, one in ten jobs were in the tourism and hospitality sector in Cork, with 22 cents from every euro spent going back into the exchequer. Tourism also supported 22,500 jobs here. Our goal is to help the industry to get back to those levels over the next year or so and grow thereafter."
When it comes to business tourism, the region is looking in a good position, with Evylen O'Sullivan, Manager at Cork Convention Bureau noting, "In 2021 we submitted 6 bids to host international conferences and already have just under €7m worth of confirmed business taking place in 2022.
"This almost sees us return to pre-Covid figures. Cork excels at attracting international association conferences, especially in sectors such as Agriculture, STEM, Space and Maritime, so there is huge potential to target this sector even further over the coming years, working closely with Fáilte Ireland, to grow Cork as a destination of choice for conference business."
Fáilte Ireland also unveiled plans to double their domestic marketing investment to drive short breaks to regions like Cork year-round. They will also invest further in the digital presence of tourism businesses, and they launched Regional Tourism Strategies for Ireland’s Ancient East and the Wild Atlantic Way, in addition to a local Destination Development Plan.
