Louth Cathaoirleach slams Fáilte Ireland for Louth omission from TV ad
Louth omitted from Failte Ireland's advertisement of Irelands Ancient East
Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, Cllr Kevin Callan, has described as "utterly indefensible", the decision of Failte Ireland to omit the county from its advertisement of Irelands Ancient East.
The matter which was raised on RTEs Liveline programme which received complaints about the omission, has led the Cllr Callan to call for an urgent meeting with Failte Ireland and Louth County Council to discuss the matter and how to reduce the impact of the decision.
In response to complaints from Louth residents on RTÉ’s Liveline, the tourism authority said it has invested heavily in the County with it €466,000 in the reimagine Boyne Valley drive, €400,000 into the Boyne Valley Infrastructure Capital Project, over €1.1 million into the Urban Animation Capital investment scheme in Drogheda and half a million euro into the Drogheda Destination towns.
Fáilte Ireland described its capital grant allocation of €400,000 from the Office of Public Works for the development of King John's Castle, in Carlingford as a "key project". The statement added that a further grant of €118,000 was given to Louth County Council to develop an outdoor dining facility in Carlingford. According to the authority, it is only running one television advertisement and it could only include so much content.
Cllr Callan said that these advertisements are "crucial in driving tourism in from areas such as the United States. We sat with the representatives of the tourism body last Saint Patrick's week in New York and were briefed on many different initiatives to create new flight routes to locations across the continent being generated which were building on a new generation of Irish American tourist. Louth was a key part of this messaging as we have so much to offer."
The Independent councillor continued: "To be missing from these promotional videos in the age of influencer and digital content being the main areas where people decide on their destination is a serious issue.
"Our restaurants, hotels and visitor destinations all have bought into the Ancient East initiative and to be left out is not acceptable, if time limits were an issue then other locations not in the Ancient East area should have been omitted.
Cllr Callan added, "I will be asking officials of the Council who are tasked with tourism promotion to interact with Failte Ireland on this as a matter of urgency."