TOURISM is a leisure industry that many people depend on to make a living. It provides employment for many young people in Ireland today on spin-off industries, for example, souvenir shops, traditional knitwear, pottery shops, and many other industries similar to these.
We should encourage tourism to boost our economy so that Ireland could become a wealthier country. Many more tourists would visit Ireland if the rural areas were advertised and properly marketed.
Cuilmore is the area in which I go to school. It has mountainous features, and is not very prosperous. Why? Because most of the young people in the area -due to lack of employment -have to emigrate to England and America.
There is only a Post Office and a Primary School in Cuilmore so on account of there being no shopping facilities in the Cuilmore village, it would be wiser to include the town of Newport in the developing of the area. Newport is only about 2.5 miles from Cuilmore. Then a committee should be formed with representatives from both town and village to market the area.
There is a great amount of historical background in the Cuilmore-Newport area. Grace Kelly's grandfather came from Drimulra. She visited Cuilmore two years before she died and she stayed in Newport House Hotel, an old manor which is now a guest house. Burrishoole Abbey is one of the few abbeys that is left in Ireland today.
Cuilmore Lake has been stocked during the summer with small trout. The type of tourists that would come to this area now are people with ancestorallinks within Cuilmore and Newport. Many anglers are attracted to this area because our waters are pollution free and more anglers would be attracted to the area if it was advertised. People who want a break from the cities, Cuilmore-Newport is the ideal place. Forest and hill walking would prove very popular with the tourists.
Cuilmore-Newport would benefit so much from tourism. There would be less emigration around the area and more money would flow into the area. Signs should be erected to help the tourists know where Cuilmore and Newport are. Brochures should be printed to market the area and the holidays should be well organised so people would have certain days for certain things. Bed and breakfast would also be a great industry if enough tourists were there to back it up. If the number of tourists increased so would the number of bed and breakfast and farmhouse bed and breakfast is very suitable to this area. Tourism would also bring the community together to tidy up the town and village so it would look more atttactive to tourists.
As you can see, there are many opportunities in my area and the community should work together in developing those to enhance our area and make it a better place to live in.