Post Celtic Tiger South East Ireland
During the 90’s many American multinational companies put down roots in the Republic of Ireland, creating thousands of jobs for the local people in the areas. For the first time in Irish history people such as the Polish were coming to Ireland to look for employment. Between 1995 and 2007 Ireland prospered into a very wealthy country, this period became known as ‘The Celtic Tiger Era’. Around 2007 the economy crashed and by 2008 Ireland was no longer in what was known as ‘the boom’, and the country plummeted into a global recession.
The Celtic Tiger was a time of prosperity in Ireland; people had money, jobs, fancy cars and even second homes in exotic corners of the world. As well as this more and more people were visiting Ireland, with approximately eight million tourists visiting Ireland in 2007, this was a record number of visitors and brought a huge amount of money into the country. But figures in 2011 show that “the number of tourists visiting the island dropped to about 6.6million which is about 17 per cent below 2007 levels, when tourism was at its peak”(http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0912/1224323910231.html).
Due to the falling number of tourists visiting, hotels are forced to slash their prices and many hotels in rural areas such as Cahersiveen have been forced to close after only a year in business. In relation to tourism in South Kerry, much of it is focused in and around Killarney which is seen as the ‘hub’ of tourism. Day trips visiting ‘The Ring of Kerry’ bring people to the peninsula but they never stay overnight which is causing a downturn in local revenue. However, Cahersiveen which was built facing away from the sea has made attempts in recent years to ‘turn back’, by the construction of a marina in a bid to attract tourists to the area. Cahersiveen is the biggest town in South Kerry but fails to supply adequate accommodation to cope with large volumes of tourists which results in a major downfall for the town itself. It
The Celtic Tiger was a time of prosperity in Ireland; people had money, jobs, fancy cars and even second homes in exotic corners of the world. As well as this more and more people were visiting Ireland, with approximately eight million tourists visiting Ireland in 2007, this was a record number of visitors and brought a huge amount of money into the country. But figures in 2011 show that “the number of tourists visiting the island dropped to about 6.6million which is about 17 per cent below 2007 levels, when tourism was at its peak”(http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0912/1224323910231.html).
Due to the falling number of tourists visiting, hotels are forced to slash their prices and many hotels in rural areas such as Cahersiveen have been forced to close after only a year in business. In relation to tourism in South Kerry, much of it is focused in and around Killarney which is seen as the ‘hub’ of tourism. Day trips visiting ‘The Ring of Kerry’ bring people to the peninsula but they never stay overnight which is causing a downturn in local revenue. However, Cahersiveen which was built facing away from the sea has made attempts in recent years to ‘turn back’, by the construction of a marina in a bid to attract tourists to the area. Cahersiveen is the biggest town in South Kerry but fails to supply adequate accommodation to cope with large volumes of tourists which results in a major downfall for the town itself. It
Bibliography: * Aalen, F.H.A, Whelan, K, Stout, M, 1997, Atlas of the Irish rural landscape, Cork University Press, Cork * http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0912/1224323910231.html, 06/02/2013 Niamh Daly 111431148 Fieldwork John Crowley & Ray O’ Connor