BY NOEL O’DRISCOLL
THE Shine tourism initiative will be a huge opportunity for the town, which many other towns in the country would be delighted to have”.
That’s according to leading hotelier and TV personality John Brennan who was in Athy for the Shine business launch which took place last week at the Athy Heritage Centre.
It was recently announced that Athy is to be the first town to take part in this new tourism initiative which aims to reinvigorate the traditional Irish welcome to overseas visitors. The overall aim of the Shine Town Programme is to ensure that tourists visiting Athy experience the best possible service wherever they go in the town. SHINE stands for Someone who is Happy, Interested, Natural and Expert at what they do.
The roll-out of the Shine Town programme over the coming months will include training programmes for all frontline staff which will be run by Failte Ireland, competitions for local schools to get school children thinking about the programme and the creation of a special Shine map in conjunction with Failte Ireland listing the top ten things to do in and around the town.
Mr Brennan said Shine was an opportunity for everyone in Athy, from Kindergarten up to put their shoulder to the wheel. “Be in no doubt you have a unique opportunity here and you have bodies like Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland supporting you, an established tourist town like Killarney would love to have something like that. I know it will be great for Athy because you are starting with a clean sheet, you have so much you don’t know you have and you have a blank piece of paper to write your future on it.”
He went on to add that Shine went much further than tourism. “If you get what Shine has to offer in the blood it will be so beneficial for the town, it’s up to you, you have to grasp it and run with it. Get your schools and teachers behind it because the children that are in the schools will be the ones putting this into practice in years to come.”
The chairman of the Athy Shine Committee said that the next year would be a pivotal year for Athy. “Our success or failure will be witnessed by the rest of the country over the next year or so. While it is an opportunity for the town to excel, it also is a huge challenge for everyone and it is one which you the business people of Athy have a leading role to play.”
He went on to add that Shine needs and wants the involvement of the whole community in Athy. “Shine is all inclusive and no one needs to be left out. That includes the general public and we will have a public launch in late March to inform the wider community and the nation.”
The Cathaoirleach of Athy Town Council, Cllr Aoife Breslin said that the Shine project will be important for the promotion of Athy as a tourist town. “It’s about getting back to basics and it’s about galvanising the community around the Shine idea. If one takes a moment to take in all the fantastic events, facilities and attraction that our town has to offer we might be surprised.
Athy has huge potential within the tourism sector, we now need to grasp this opportunity.”