Irish bid to bring diaspora home reviving tourism

Passengers from the Titanic Memorial Cruise walk towards the old town hall while on a tour of Cobh April 9, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Chris Helgren

DUBLIN | Mon Apr 29, 2013 1:19pm EDT

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Visits to Ireland by North Americans rose by 17 percent in the first quarter of the year, data show, a sign that a government-led campaign to lure visitors with Irish roots is reinvigorating tourism in the country as it emerges from financial crisis.

A pickup in the job-rich tourist trade would help cut a 14 percent unemployment rate, one of Europe's highest, although Ireland is relying mainly on exports to deliver a third year of modest growth as it looks to exit an EU/IMF bailout this year.

Having cut sales tax on restaurants and hotels, the government is now banking on a year-long tourism campaign dubbed "The Gathering" to boost the numbers of Irish diaspora visiting their homeland.

The number of visitors rose by 7.4 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2013, Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures showed on Monday, with the North American market posting its best performance since 2004.

Around half of the estimated 70 million people with Irish heritage living abroad are in the United States and Canada, meaning they are the main targets of "Gathering" advertising.

"There's clear evidence that The Gathering has been very effective in North America, in the U.S. in particular," said Eamon McKeon, chief executive of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation (ITIC).

"It has absolutely hit the spot and differentiates us from other European destinations. The Gathering was definitely a conduit that helped grow air capacity and is helping consumers make the decision: 'Yeah, let's do Ireland'."

The 1.25 million people who visited between January and March was the highest number of first-quarter trips to Ireland since 2009. But it was still some way behind the 1.55 million who came in the first three months of 2008, just before Ireland's financial crisis struck.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Spanish eatery hopes world best restaurant award boosts tourism

By Inmaculada Sanz

MADRID | Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:26pm EDT

MADRID (Reuters) - An avante-garde restaurant run by three brothers in north-east Spain hopes that being crowned the world's best restaurant will boost food tourism in recession-bound Spain.

El Celler de Can Roca in Girona scooped the prestigious prize from Britain's Restaurant magazine on Monday, making Spain's coastal region north of Barcelona the top place in the world to eat once again.

The restaurant ended Danish experimental eatery Noma's three-year run in the No. 1 slot. Noma took the title from Catalan chef Ferran Adria's El Bulli, which is 30 miles from El Celler, and held the crown for four years.

El Celler, which the Roca brothers opened in 1986 and boasts three Michelin stars, favors Catalan ingredients such as fresh seafood and playful presentation, serving caramelized olives on bonsai trees to diners.

Dishes at the avant-garde restaurant include desserts based on perfume ingredients, including Calvin Klein's Eternity, ice cream that tastes like smoke from Cuban cigars, and "Dublin Bay prawns with curry smoke".

"The prize means we can strengthen our brand and in terms of promoting our country it's extremely important," sommelier Josep Roca told radio station Cadena Ser on Tuesday.

"We have to take advantage of this to show off our country, philosophy, way of being, living, eating and in some way use it to our advantage in terms of tourism."

Josep and his brothers Joan and Jordi run the restaurant after learning the trade at their parents' Can Roca restaurant, also in Girona.

Joan, who spent one season under Adria at the now closed El Bulli, is head chef, while Jordi takes care of desserts.

The eatery, which has been ranked among the world's top five restaurants for the last five years, offers two tasting menus featuring over 20 dishes for 135 euros ($180) and 165 euros.

"The Roca brothers have managed to reach an extraordinary level based on dialogue, between the sweet, the savory and wine, in a way no other restaurant in the world has managed," said Adria, who cried when the award was announced on Monday.

Two restaurants in Spain's northern Basque Country, Mugaritz and Arzak, came in at No. 4 and No. 8 on the list, making Spain the world's top ranking gastronomic destination with three of the top 10 slots.

Elena Arzak, named the best chef in the world two years ago, told Reuters she also thought the rankings could help lift Spain's depressed economy.

Tourism is one of the only bright spots in Spain's economy, which has shrunk for seven consecutive quarters with record unemployment of 27 percent.

"Getting on the list has a major international impact because it encourages food tourism and generates excitement among people who like fine dining," Arzak said.

"People come from all over the world ... recently we've been seeing lots of visitors from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Canada. It's like you get to travel all over the world without leaving the restaurant, just talking to the people who come in."

(Writing by Clare Kane, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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