The site – www.discoverwaterford.ie – is part of a new promotional drive to illustrate the city’s rich history and vast array of amenities, a point bolstered by a new tourist map, which has already been well received.
Both the site and map were the brainchild of the ‘Destination Waterford’ committee which first convened at the Theatre Royal in December last.
This 14-strong group is drawn from across the city’s business, arts and tourism sectors and is working closely with Waterford City Council in the re-invigorated promotion of the city.
“As a city we have much to offer visitors and we are continuing to launch products and tools to increase our share of the market,” said Mayor Roche.
“The key objectives are to capitalise on the fact that Irish people are holidaying at home; to boost the number of people coming into Ireland to holiday; and also capture more of the day-tripper market.
“We’re being proactive about highlighting the many festivals and events taking place in our city to those potential markets. I’m confident that this investment will reap great returns for tourism and related businesses in the city.”
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Discover what? They are closing down everything here and spending money on rubbish. Go to galway folks, they have nice little outdoor cafes etc.. its a beautiful place, why cant our City Council take a leaf out of their book? What has happened to poor old Waterford, the City that could have so much to offer?
How are the Council closing down everything? A few shops have closed, same as every other town and city in the country. The Council are trying to improve the city, this website being one example. A few other examples are the new House of Waterford Crystal, the conversion of Bishops Palace into a museum and the garden being created there, the flood relief walls along the river, plans for the Quay etc. Good things are happening in the city but all you can do is moan about the bad things.
Galway have nice little outdoor cafes, wow big deal, sure don’t we have a few ourselves. Galway don’t have half the history and heritage that Waterford has, why don’t you visit the website and see what there is to discover here.
well said Micky. there is far too much negativity from some people. Waterford is finally getting its act together, The tall ships next year & thr upgrading & investment in WIT which will happen are two more good news storys. upwards & onwards Waterford.
Guys my point was that Galway have little or no heritage, but yet thei town is always booming and full of tourists, we must ask ourselves why. I myself discussed this with officials from the Waterford City Council and they agreed, saying that Galway has that special something but what it is we don’t know. Galway had a populattion of a mere 15,789 people 28 years ago it is now 50,800. This is massive growth. It is no news to anyone that Waterford has been hit hardest by this recession, and our councilors seem to be promoting this turn down, by closing stores like TK Maxx, and creating more job losses. They are greedy in the sense that they do not provide free parking within the City and charge outlandish rates on commercial properties, the Belfry Hotel was another classic example of this, Tommy reid (owner of the belfry) was on WLR spelling this out. The closure of streets to pedestrianise them was also sily. Now having said all of this the House of Waterford Crystal is a fantastic new breeze of potential to the City as is the Bishops Palace Project, and the flood relief walls along the river, but we need fresh new ideas in greater quantities FAST! and also the work on all of tese projects should be carried out by Waterford people who need jobs rather than outsourcing the work to outsiders like Dermot Gavin. Let it be said I am not coming down on my City but rather I am down on SOME of the people runiing it as I feel some of their decisions are running it into the ground. However I don’t expext everyone to sharemy opinion either , it is just my opinion.
having recently spent a couple of days in Waterford, my wife and I will not be going back in a hurry. The back window on our car was smashed in as we brought our 2 kids to play in the Peoples Park in the town centre. We arrived in Waterford on Wednesday lunchtime and went home on Friday afternoon. Between Thursday midday and Friday lunchtime we were unable to do an awful lot with the kids as we were trying to get the window on the car sorted. Thanks to the moron who ruined our short break. Having travelled from Cavan, we were really looking forward to the break. Sorry, but I dont think I will be recommending Waterford to any of my friends or family.
Tony – fair enough I see where you’re coming from. I don’t agree about TK Maxx – the City Council didn’t force it to close, but in any case TK Maxx moving in to the city centre will be better for the city. I don’t agree with your view on pedestrianisation either. Commercial rates and parking, yeah the Council should look at reducing those.
Mark – sorry to hear you had a bad experience but that could have happened to you in any city or town, it’s just bad luck.
I can’t believe the negativity here, first off Galway is the capital city of Connaught as Cork is for Munster, so please compare like with like. Galway has a certain somthing, yes it has, a few things in fact. It has Conamara & just a bit further away the Burren in Clare. It also has a massive diaspora all over the world & the USA in particular, who no boubt help enormously in promoting the place as a tourist destination. Waterford to many Americans, sad to say is often a crystalware product range & not an actual place. Pedesterian only streets from a visitor point of view is one of the major pluses, though I would agree parking is hard found & overpriced in these recessionary times. To suceed in tourism Waterford needs to help the budget city centre hotels as much as, if not more than the Little Island & Faithlegg type businesses who also have their place. Waterford is a ‘sound product’ but everyone has to believe in it if they wish progress anyway like Galway. A hidden gem in the making.
Tommo I do agree with some of what you say, but alway is a far less important place than Waterford is. We are a major City, but why are we failing to promote it and sell it to tourists. You speak of Conemara, well we have one of the biggest beaches in Europe, we have the Comeraghs, we have Lismore Castle, Waterford castle, Waterford Crystal, Reginalds Tower, The City Walls, and countless other terrific features, we also have some of the nicest and cleanest beaches in Ireland and all they have is Connemara! Come on be real , they have nothing to offer compared to us. But the town centre is very picturesque, quaint and a pleasant place to be, put simply the Council in Waterford dont put their back into making Waterford what it should be. We have a very poor selection of Councillors here and not qualified forthe job. I do realise that most Americans think Waterford is simply a brand of Crystal and not a destination or place, i experienced this first hand whilst in NYC when I spoke to native New Yorkers. Folks may describe all this as me being overly negative about my City ( Waterford0 but it needs to be said. Waterford as a city is more or less bankrupt and nobody in charge seems to have any clue or motivation to change this. It makes me angry to see such a great city and the oldest city in ireland steeped in history being on its knees.
Mark I too am sorry to learn of your misfortune whilst visiting Waterford , but please do not tar us all with the same brush, it is a good place to be , you were just unlucky.