The old marching song, It's a Long Way to Tipperary has been somewhat of a double-edged advantage to that county. It's made the name well-known far beyond these shores, but also gives the impression that Tipp is quite a tidy step of a journey to get to.
South Tipperary County Tourism Committee are presently studying the results of a marketing and development plan for the area, which they commissioned from the Dublin-based consultants Tourism and Leisure Partners.
The report was launched earlier this months in Dundrum, Co Tipperary.
"Tipperary is almost a brand name," explains Joe Palmer, the South East's regional tourism manager. "We want to exploit the potential of the name." The area of Tipperary South Riding includes Cashel, Cahir, Tipperary town, and Carrick on Suir.
Among the recommendations made in the report is that of trying to encourage visitors to the area to think about staying overnight, rather than passing through. The way in which the consultants suggest this can be achieved in the South Riding is by developing existing strengths in the tourism market: heritage tourism, those buzz words beloved of the 90s; rural tourism; and what's termed `special interest holidays', such as walking, fishing, and golf.
Suggestions for capitalising on the heritage aspect include placing Cashel as the county's heritage showcase and creating a Tipperary Heritage Trail. For rural tourism, among the recommendations are: stepping up the promotion of the Glen of Aherlow; and organising rural community workshops and pilot schemes, such as farm-based agriculture educational tours.
"There wasn't anything in the report that would be particularly new to us," says Joe Palmer.