Tourism bounces back

OUR special report on West Cork tourism this week reveals that many companies felt the summer of 2021 was ‘the best yet’.

It was a wonderfully positive experience for so many – and a great vote of confidence in our tourism product.

If we can triumph within months of such a major setback, which included having practically no foreign visitors for two seasons, then surely it says a lot about what West Cork has to offer.

There is no doubt that these businesses put their blood, sweat and tears into projects to get them up and running again this summer, and were not going to allow any obstacle hold them back.

The hospitality industry embraced ideas around new outdoor areas, innovative serving and payment arrangements, and the leisure firms found new ways to promote socially-distanced offerings, with longer opening hours and more creative activities.

This renewed enthusiasm, buoyed by energy and outside-the-box thinking, has future-proofed a lot of companies that a year before were on their knees.

It has left us all with a very important learning – if we can not only survive, but thrive, after a global pandemic, surely nothing can stop us now.