I
do manage to learn, by rote, the odd one or two. Alas, if you are in my company,
you may very well have heard my two favourites, a dozen or so times over. A wee
man goes into a baker’s shop, on Sauchiehall Street (Glasgow). He asks the baker,
“How much is yon cake?” “£1” is the reply. The man asks, “Whit aboot that
cake?” “£1” is the reply. “An’ that wan?” pointing to a cream bun. “£1” is the
reply. “An’ this wan ower therr?” “£2” is the reply. “Hey therr Jimmy, why the
price difference?” asks the wee man. To which the baker replies “That’s ma’ Madeira
cake,” boom, boom!
“Why
the long face?” refers of course to the punchline of a pub themed joke. Two
horses go into a bar.....you’ll remember the rest yourself. It would probably be
relevant to many of our present tourism providers, when we look at Waterford’s
and the South East’s statistical share of inbound tourists. Like many one-time demographics,
which though hidden in “Dusty” corners of that hyper-space behemoth, the
internet, I and others manage to find. Which we can regularly quote as to just
why we don’t fare as well, as other towns, cities and regions.
Last
week, the Meitheal 2018 was taking place in “Ireland’s Biggest Hotel”, City
West. This hotel, just off the N7, is set in circa 240 acres. It has a
convention centre that can accommodate over 4,000 delegates and an 18-hole golf
course. What seems like “Millions” of car parking spaces and boasts over 760
bedrooms. Some of which are so far away from the hotel Reception, you quite literally
need to hail a taxi cab, just to reach your leaba! Luckily for us, representing
Waterford Camino, we were staying elsewhere, miles away from the madding
crowds.
The
convention centre was packed to the rafters. All manner of hotels, attractions
and service providers in attendance. Neatly placed into sectors of this vast,
imposing arena. Obviously, Waterford Camino were in situ, in “Ireland’s Ancient
East” section, along with some of Waterford’s very best. We were surrounded by
a much bigger army, whose allegiance was to “The Wild Atlantic Way”. A tourism phenomenon,
that has pulled, pushed and cajoled, millions of visitors to Ireland to “Go
West!”, as the Pet Shop Boys would have said.
“Ireland’s
Ancient East”, protagonists, were putting their best feet forward, against some
extraordinarily tough opposition. We were middleweights, battling against
seasoned heavyweights. Some would quite rightly argue, that a far larger
proportion of Waterford’s providers should have been present. This was after
all a chance to shine a light on, let’s face it, the “Quietist”, least
discovered County in Ireland. The buyers were lined up in their hundreds, from
every conceivable corner of the globe. There in City West’s convention centre, to
hear about and sample, the very best of what every unexplored corner, of this wee
green isle, had to offer their paying customers. It was a chance to
differentiate ourselves from the same old, same old.
The
tourism story we can now tell, should reinforce our position, us as the most
sought after, brightest jewel in our national tourism crown. Yet we see many a
long face, when it comes to supporting and promoting the very essence that
makes us unique. When seeing the sights are concerned, Waterford really does
have it all. As we, The Waterford Camino Team waxed lyrically, during our brief
10-minute “Meet-the-buyer-slots”, it was like speed dating. With added
pressure, as the “Countdown” clock ticked away in the background. The shortest
amount of time in the world, when you have to make a sales pitch, impress and
agree follow-up timelines. Pressure cooker stuff indeed!
Our
tourism future is bright. As a point of difference, we’re unique!
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