Ireland's Tourism gets a New Theme
28 November 2006
THEMED B&Bs – A REVOLUTIONARY NEW CROSS-BORDER CONCEPT TO REVITALISE THE IRISH B&B EXPERIENCE AND CAPTIVATE TOURISTS WORLD-WIDE.
Town and Country Homes, Ireland’s leading B&B Association are delighted to announce the launch of the Themed B&B Pilot programme, which will ultimately group participating B&B’s islandwide into distinctive themes including golf, walking, food and angling. The new initiative, launched today by the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O’Donoghue T.D is supported through the European Union’s Interreg IIIA Programme managed for the Special EU Programmes Body by the ICBAN partnership.
In launching the programme the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O'Donoghue T.D acknowledged that recent years have been difficult for the Bed and Breakfast sector. He described the pilot programme "as a vision of where Irish Bed and Breakfasts will be in the 21st century. Traditionally the Irish B&B has provided a unique experience. This solid strategic initiative will help to ensure that this unique experience survives and thrives," he added.
The initial focus for the pilot will be on five key themes: Heritage and Culture, Walking, Angling, Golf and Food, all of which reflects and supports the all-Ireland Tourism product marketing strategy currently being rolled out by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland. This also closely complements the NITB development strategy. “Our ambitious but realistic aim is to create a network of 500 Themed B&Bs under ten categories by 2013”, confirmed Alan Hill, CEO of Town and Country Homes. “We believe this will be the tool that we will use to redefine the Irish B&B Experience and help sustain the sector”.
The Pilot Programme will see 35 Themed B&Bs ready for the international markets by the beginning of 2008. All will be drawn from the twelve northern counties on the island.
Karina Kelly, ICBAN Special Projects Officer, says, “ICBAN is delighted to facilitate the European Union funding of this innovative project. Through training, product development, and marketing this project will directly contribute to a more sustainable and competitive B&B sector, which is of vital importance to the tourism economy of the region, particularly in rural areas”.
The ground breaking Phase 2 of the Programme will see the expansion of the initial pilot across the whole island. This will give Ireland a new and innovative world class product offering of scale and quality mostly in rural areas. "The B&B concept is one of the rocks upon which our tourism industry has been built” commented Shaun Quinn, Chief Executive, Fáilte Ireland. “It is still one of the most authentic of Irish experiences, offering value for money, and a model to the world. I congratulate the Town & Country Homes Association on this initiative, this vision for the 21st century, which will revitalise and modernise the B&Bs. Fáilte Ireland will support them in every way possible". Alan Clarke, NITB Chief Executive added, “The Town and Country Homes Association has listened to the consumer and has taken on board changing patterns in how visitors are experiencing a stay on the island of Ireland. We support this new initiative and would encourage others who are involved with the inbound tourism market to similarly adapt and embrace new trends.”