Business
Shannon sells best of the west on Chicago mission
The West of Ireland’s appeal to one of its key markets, Chicago, for inward trade investment and tourism has been reinforced in a three-day visit by Shannon Group to the third most populous US city.
The delegation, which included Shannon Group Chairman Rose Hynes, CEO Neil Pakey and Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Murphy, had eight separate engagements with key stakeholders from the Chicago region, including with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
There was a particularly strong Galway reference to the delegation through the city’s twinning with Chicago – because also present on the trip was Chairman of the Galway Sisters City Committee and CEO of Galway Bay FM Keith Finnegan, who also broadcast his morning radio programme live three days running from Chicago.
“It really was a very positive, relationship building trip for Shannon but also for the West. All the business links through 25 years of Galway’s relationship with Chicago were used to make the trip the success it was,” said Keith.
“It was a relentless three day trip, with meetings from early morning to late at night with key stakeholders. Shannon Group did an excellent job selling the West coast of Ireland. There was a major emphasis, of course, on access, on getting people in and out of our region.
“Statistics tell us that a very large percentage of people who visit Ireland arrive in the east coast and stay there when there is a unique offering here in the West. Shannon is our local international airport and for the future of tourism and access into the west, it is crucial. coast and into Shannon is crucial.
“The level of engagement also impressed greatly. United Airlines, which operates services between Chicago and Shannon, attend two separate events but the Mayor and Deputy Mayor also endorsed the efforts of the Shannon Group to grow trade and tourism between our regions.
“They want traffic going into West of Ireland and they also want traffic coming out of it. These are endorsements at the highest level in Chicago,” he added.
The three-day visit, which concluded at the weekend, saw the Shannon Group promote trade and tourism investment into the West of Ireland, and in particular through the Group’s assets such as Shannon Airport, the Shannon Free Zone and Shannon Heritage.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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