Dail to debate Midlands' omission from US tourism marketing

The Dail is this afternoon to debate what's claimed to be the omission of the midlands from Failte Ireland's US marketing.Longford-Westmeath Fianna Fáil TD Robert Troy said he had secured a Topical Issue debate in the Dail today (Thursday) on the topic: 'The need for the Minister to explain the omission of the midlands region from the advertising of tourism in the American market.'The issue arose earlier this year when the general manager of Belvedere House and Gardens in Mullingar branded Fáilte Ireland's attempts at marketing Westmeath overseas as a "disgrace".According to its general manager, Bartle D'Arcy, Belvedere and the rest of Westmeath could attract more overseas visitors if they received the same level of promotion as popular tourist destinations such as Dublin, Galway and Kerry."They [tourists] only go from coast to coast because that's all they are shown. Westmeath and the midlands haven't been advertised in the United States for the last three years," said Mr D'Arcy."In 2009, when I was in Philadelphia, Westmeath and Belvedere and Locke's Distillery were must-see destinations in overseas travel guides, then they were removed because they are part of Lakelands and are only advertised in Germany. It is a disgrace."Westmeath is now being marketed by Fáilte Ireland as part of its Lakelands region, which runs from Fermanagh to Limerick, an area that is so large that, Mr D'Arcy says, it doesn't have a true identity.To market Westmeath and the midlands in the US, Mid Ireland Tourism - an independent body - took out its own ad this year, featuring none other than President Barack ObamaMr D'Arcy believes that Fáilte Ireland should be actively promoting Westmeath and neighbouring counties to American tourists."The midlands has far more to offer overseas visitors than the coast. The coast has the invader cities while the heritage of Ireland is in the centre of Ireland but it has never been marketed correctly because there are too many vested interests around the coast."However, Failte Ireland said the €600,000 marketing budget for the Lakelands in 2012 is the biggest of any of the organisation's designated regions and that there are "historic" reasons why American tourists visit the east and west coasts.Most of the Lakelands budget is being spent on campaigns in the UK, Germany and domestically because "these are where the potential visitors are", the spokesperson said.Topical Issues is scheduled to begin in the Dáil at 3.40pm and this issue is the second item on the list.You can get a live feed from the Dáil here: http://asx.heanet.ie/oireachtas/dail_broadband.asx