Page 27 - COBH EDITION 17TH MAY DIGITAL VERSION

Also commenting on the Taste the Island initiative, Neil Grant, the Celtic Ross Hotel
and IHF Cork Chairman, said:

“We at the Celtic Ross Hotel are delighted to be a host venue for this fantastic “Taste
the Island” campaign. I truly believe that the quality of Irish Food is World Class
and that it is becoming more and more important to our overseas guests. What’s
more, they recognise that Ireland stands above many of its competitors internation-
ally, in the ethos of championing amazing local produce in Pubs, Cafes, Restaurants
& Hotels all over Ireland. It is great to see this campaign focused on the months
where we have the capacity and need business, it truly will help to extend our sea-
son particularly in rural Cork.”
To kickstart the new and exciting initiative, Fáilte Ireland have invited businesses
and individuals interested in providing tourists with a food or drink experience to at-
tend workshops in their local area. Today’s workshop which took place in the Celtic
Ross Hotel in Cork is the seventh of eighteen workshops for the industry to learn
more and provide them with the opportunity to shape the development of a pro-
gramme of events and experiences for 2019.

Ms Coughlan continued:

“This initiative supports Fáilte Ireland’s strategic imperative to address seasonality
and grow revenue by driving increasing bed nights outside of the summer season
while also driving visitors to explore lesser-known locations across the country and
will, in the long term, enhance Ireland’s international food and drink reputation be-
fore they get here.”

A new Toolkit guide (website www.failteireland.ie/tastetheisland) on how the indus-
try can deliver and maximise the opportunities in food and drink tourism, including a
step by step guide for their business built around these 5 pillars:

Taste – pubs, restaurants, cafes, hotels- everywhere you can taste out fantastic
food and drink
Meet the maker – our passionate and innovative food producers
Make it yourself – our wonderful interactive food experiences, cookery schools and
educational facilities
Trail/Networks – over 30 trails or clusters of businesses working together to enhance
the visitor’s food and drink experience all over the country
Festivals and Events – We are building a programme full of festivals and events
throughout the Taste the Island from September to November 2019