Waterford has been largely ignored by CIE Tours International since the closure of Waterford Crystal, a development which has profoundly affected tourist numbers in the south east according to Senator Paudie Coffey.
Senator Coffey, officially selected as Fine Gael’s candidate for the Waterford by-election last week, described CIE’s shunning the city and county as “completely unacceptable”.
This claim was made following news from the United States that Waterford had been included in just four of the 20 tours advertised by the company for the US market during 2010.
This would indicate that CIE has either chosen to ignore the imminent opening of the new Waterford Crystal Visitor Centre on The Mall or remained blissfully ignorant to the project.
“CIE’s refusal to promote Waterford to the overseas market is killing the tourism sector, not just in Waterford but in the entire south east region,” said the Senator.
“Once Waterford Crystal closed its doors, CIE no longer saw fit to advertise the county on its overseas itineraries aimed at attracting visitors to Ireland.
See The Munster Express newspaper for full story.