Keep tourists in town says Curran

Keep tourists in town says Curran

24 February 2016

A SENIOR politician has called for more to be done to ensure thousands of visitors to the St Patrick Centre in Downpatrick each year spend more time and money in the town centre.

Councillor Dermot Curran said if Newry, Mourne and Down Council is serious about putting tourism at the top of its agenda, it must harness the spending power of visitors to the centre dedicated to Ireland’s patron saint.

The local authority’s Enterprise, Regeneration and Tourism Committee was told recently that almost 800 coaches visit the St Patrick Centre every year with the majority of those on board not venturing into the town centre to sample what shops have to offer.

Councillor Curran argues that if just 30 people on board each coach went in to the town centre it would represent and increased footfall of almost 22,000 people a year. He said if they spent £5 each it would represent a £132,000 boost to the local economy.

Members of the council committee heard that while St. Patrick Centre staff actively encourage visitors to make their way to the nearby Down County Museum, many of the visiting tours are often on a very tight timescale.

“There is clearly an issue we are going to have to address,” declared councillor Curran. “Here we have thousands of visitors who are coming into Downpatrick but not spending time in our town centre.

“We need to make contact with the various tour operators to make the case for visitors to be given more time to explore what Downpatrick has to offer. This is an opportunity we should not miss and one I have no doubt the business community would want us to pursue.

“We need to look at ways of maximising people’s stay and encourage them into the town centre. We need to examine how we can generate spin-offs for the business community from such huge numbers of visitors on our doorstep,” he continued.

Councillor Curran believes there is a need for a strategy to be devised that would ensure tour operators work alongside Newry, Mourne and Down Council so the visitors they bring to Downpatrick can spend time not only in the town centre, but other attractions including the Down County Museum, Down Cathedral and St Patrick’s Church.

He added: “We need to look at an overall tourism plan for Downpatrick so we can maximise the opportunities our dedicated centres and natural attractions offer both visitors and local businesses.”