Wexford County Council is being encouraged to apply for between €250,000-€500,000 in funding following the announcement of a €15.5 million nationwide investment by Fáilte Ireland.
Under the initiative, local authorities will be able to apply for the funding in order to develop two towns in the county so that they become a “destination town” for tourists.
The development of squares, markets and street facilities will form the basis of the scheme.
Central to this programme is for towns in Wexford and elsewhere to demonstrate that they can boost visitor numbers.
To be successful in their funding submissions, Councils will be expected to identify towns that have:
At least one visitor attraction of scale that can drive tourism demand.
A range of things to see and do for two days – A town that hopes to attract overnight visitors needs to offer a variety of attractions, activities and entertainment options which can keep tourists engaged for more than 11 hours a day, including three hours in the evening.
A selection of accommodation – Towns will need accommodation stock of at least 300 beds to become a seasonal destination town (and 1,000 beds to operate as a year-round destination) or be a town that has the potential to grow its bed stock in the future.
A range of food offerings to meet the visitor needs including a range of options for light snacks, tea/coffee, lunch and dinner.
Minister Paul Kehoe is “encouraging everyone to send their feedback which I will relay to Wexford County Council.”
A presentation along the lines of “international tourism” for Co. Wexford was recently presented at a monthly meeting of Wexford County Council, however, members appeared to be confused with each town batting for their share of the tourism cake!
If I were a punter, I would place my wager on the monies coming to Wexford for the Opera Festival and Enniscorthy for the 1798 Vinegar Hill Project, but on the 850th anniversary of the arrival of the Normans at Banginbun, or Bannow Bay, the obvious international attraction is the Norman Trail in conjunction with Ireland’s Ancient East.

We await the outcome in the long term and look forward to the promotion of Wexford within its own county boundary rather than as an anonymous appendage of the South-East region such as currently appears when numbers and figures are trotted out annually!