WHILE the hospitality industry was hit hard by the pandemic, Waterford’s tourism industry enjoyed an upsurge in business following the reopening of tourism at the beginning of June, thanks in no small part to the success of the Visit Waterford campaign.
‘Your adventure starts here’ was the slogan that sent tourists flocking to enjoy everything Waterford has to offer as a premium tourist destination in the South East. And despite an estimated €5.3bn collapse in revenues across 2020 and 2021 in the hotel and guesthouse sector nationwide, bookings to Ireland’s oldest city and county surged, according to David McCoy, Chairman of Visit Waterford.
“As a tourism destination, Waterford city and county has so much to offer and following many months of uncertainty, we are delighted to look back on what was a very busy summer here in Waterford and feedback from our members has been very positive,” he said.
expect demand to remain resilient, with autumn breaks, the return of international travel and Winterval
“We expect demand to remain resilient, with autumn breaks, the return of international travel and our Winterval Festival in December,” he added.
Karen Harris, who is the owner of Dunmore Adventure, shared the sentiments: “As soon as restrictions eased, people couldn’t wait to get out and enjoy the outdoors and it was all systems go here at Dunmore Adventure. We welcomed many new faces from far and wide which was great to see.”
The Fitzwilton Hotel also enjoyed a very busy summer season, with booking at capacity throughout the summer months.
looking forward to welcoming guests back to Waterford
Geoff Dawson, General Manager, said: “The domestic consumer campaign run by Failte Ireland and Visit Waterford immensely helped awareness of the expansive product offering in Waterford City and County, which our guests enjoyed. We are preparing for the autumn and looking forward to welcoming guests back to Waterford.”
For further information and to see what’s in store for the autumn/winter campaign, go to: www.visitwaterford.com
