'Gathering No 2' Put On Hold Over Brexit Currency Concerns

By Publications Checkout
'Gathering No 2' Put On Hold Over Brexit Currency Concerns

A proposed second run of 'The Gathering' has reportedly been put on the back-burner over recent currency concerns in the aftermath of last year's Brexit vote.

Irish tourism bosses were hopeful that targeting the Irish diaspora for 'The Gathering No 2' would bring another shot in the arm for the industry at a time when there's a lot of uncertainty about the ramifications of Brexit.

The first staging of the initiative in 2013 proved a major success story with 275,000 additional visitors landing in Ireland, providing a €170m windfall, reports the Sunday Independent.

The major problem being touted for a renewal of The Gathering in the near future is the weakness of the sterling against the euro, which has seen a 6% drop in the number of visitors from the UK arriving here in the first six month of this year, while Dublin's current chronic lack of hotel beds is also not helping the idea get off the ground.

 A spokesperson for Department of Tourism said that while the idea was "under consideration", uncertainty over Brexit means making a final decision on the matter difficult, adding that any second Gathering initiative would need to be timed to make use of 'spare capacity' in hotel accommodation.
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