Businesses in Cork will have to get behind a new marketing drive if they are to reap the benefits initiated during the city's reign as European Capital of Culture, it was claimed yesterday.
Cork Business Association urged traders to look beyond 2005 to ensure that new money which came into the city last year returns in 2006. Association vice president James O'Sullivan said yesterday that Cork 2005 brought commerce to the city, especially with additional tourists staying in hotels.
With the city's tenure as European Capital of Culture now just a memory, it was time for business leaders to reinvest in Cork, he said.
"We want to build on Cork being a fun place to be by night and by day. That people will come back into the city by night.
"I think there is marvellous ambience about the whole city now especially in the summer nights when people sit outside the cafes and pubs in Cork city centre.
"There is a nice continental feel to it and I think we should build on that image and entice more people in," Mr O'Sullivan added.
The business association has called on Cork City Council to provide a marketing fund to solidify the city centre as a major attraction. The association will also launch its own marketing drive in the coming weeks.
Cork businesses are being advised to forge closer links in order to further capitalise on the goodwill generated by last year's festivities.
Cork's European Capital of Culture celebrations received €7 million worth of corporate sponsorship last year, a record for cultural activity in Ireland.
More than 230 companies sponsored the celebrations for the event. Throughout 2005, over one million people attended official events as local and international audiences turned out to experience the activities during the year.
Business leaders believe that with Cork 2005's passing, the county will now have to return to the daily challenge of trying to counterbalance Dublin and the booming region along the eastern seaboard.