Coffey welcomes Failte Ireland’s Commitment to Waterford City for 2015

Fine Gael Waterford Minister Paudie Coffey has welcomed the news from Failte Ireland that it will be putting a major focus on the Viking Triangle in Waterford City next year as part of a new international product, that will brand the South-East of the Country as a heritage destination.  Minister Coffey said that this will be on the scale of the hugely successful Wild Atlantic Way and will lead to a boost in Tourism numbers for the Region over the coming period. 

“This announcement was made while Failte Ireland were announcing their review of 2014, showing that this was Ireland’s second best year for tourism numbers ever. 5,000 jobs were created in the tourism sector and almost €5 billion was spent by overseas visitors to Ireland this year.  Failte Ireland expect another 8,000 jobs to be created in the sector next year; this will have a further positive impact on Waterford’s economy over the coming 12 months.

“The Development of the Viking Triangle required an investment of over €10 million since 2010 and over the course of the last number of years it has transformed this area of the City into major tourist attraction.  The Viking Triangle is Waterford’s Cultural and Heritage quarter and since the initial investment the area has gone from strength to  strength with new bars and restaurants opening as a result of the increase in visitors.

“This government has been hugely supportive of the Tourism & Hospitality Sector since coming to office, with the reduction of the lower VAT rat down to 9%; that has led to the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across Ireland.  The government also abolished the Travel Tax which has assisted in attracting overseas visitors and we introduced initiatives like The Gathering that helped to attract an additional 350,000 visitors in 2013.

“There were over 7.5 million overseas visitors to Ireland this year and Failte Ireland hope this number will reach closer to 7.8 million next year which will further support local and regional economies in Ireland.  This is a jobs rich sector and has played a crucial role in Ireland’s economic recovery and this announcement is a vote of confidence in Waterford’s Tourism Product, History and Heritage.