Routes, not debt relief, will secure the future of Cork Airport – Daly

“Developing new routes to Germany, Scandinavia, northern Italy and France would provide a sustainable future for Cork Airport and boost tourism in Cork,” says Jim Daly, Fine Gael TD for Cork South West.

“Last Thursday I hosted a conference at Inchydoney with the Minister for Tourism, Paschal Donohue, the management at Cork Airport and representatives of Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, the Irish Hotels Federation, Cork County Council and the Airport Development Authority.

“Top of the agenda was the need to better coordinate the marketing of West Cork to encourage airlines to develop new routes in to the airport.

“I know my colleagues in Government, including Minister Donohue, are confident of the future success of this initiative and the potential for the airport and its management team to continue to benefit from the growth in the number of tourists visiting Ireland every year.

“I believe that the future success of Cork Airport is not related to any issues surrounding the debt or the old terminal but rather will come about by increased cooperation and focus by the agencies tasked with marketing Cork to the wider European market.

“The objective of this event was to identify a more cohesive approach from all stakeholders in selling the West Cork tourism product and to return back to the table in three months to review the progress made by all parties responsible for promoting Cork.

“Minister Donohoe has confirmed that he will return to West Cork before the end of the year to be updated of the success of this approach to better coordinating the marketing of the area which by then will hopefully result in new routes being serviced from Cork Airport.”