Ireland enchants British envoy

IRISH TOURISM:AS IT STRUGGLES to win back visitors from Britain, the troubled Irish tourist industry could hardly have a better ally than Queen Elizabeth's envoy who admits to being enchanted by "the beauty of the country" and believes that "there are very, very good value offers to be had" here.

Julian King, who was previously ‘chef de cabinet’ to Peter Mandelson and then Baroness Ashton in Brussels, has been British Ambassador to Ireland since last September.

Speaking to The Irish Times, he expressed “concern” about the steep decline in British tourists coming to Ireland and encouraged the industry to “get out the message about the quality, the variety and the value of the offer that exists here”.

He was playing golf in Killarney last week and thought that “the shots that went around the world of the glorious course and the fantastic days they had there were very powerful and people will remember those” but added, “you have to keep up that message all-year-round – so that people have Ireland in mind when they are planning their trips.”

He is conscious of the huge tourism potential presented by next year’s planned state visit by the Queen but declined to be drawn on her itinerary which would be “worked on by both governments”.

A keen walker who has covered much of the country, King spoke glowingly about the “fantastic” Beara Peninsula; “glorious” Donegal which he found “absolutely gorgeous”; and “Brandon Bay on the north side of the Dingle Peninsula” which was “breathtakingly beautiful”. He said these were experiences that he would be “very happy to take home to British tourists to remind them of all the wonderful things there are to see” in Ireland.

Earlier this week, King visited Kilkenny and saw some of the southeast’s main tourist attractions including Kilkenny Castle, the National Craft Gallery, Smithwick’s Brewery and the restored mediaeval garden at Rothe House where he planted a damson tree.