THE work, commitment and dedication of the volunteers who manned the Tourism Kiosk during the hottest summer in recent years was recognised at a “thank-you” reception last night in the offices of Tralee Chamber Alliance.
The Kiosk opened for six hours daily between June and the end of August during which time the volunteers fielded a variety of questions from locals and visitors relating to where to eat, what activities to do, evening entertainment, the history of the town and bus and rail timetable queries.
The CEO of Tralee Chamber Alliance, Kieran Ruttledge, said: “We appreciate the time and effort given by these volunteers. They encourage people to explore Tralee and spend more time and money in the town. These volunteers were a friendly and welcome presence for all visitors. We were particularly delighted with the response to a plea early in the summer for more people to volunteer to work in the Kiosk. We had over 30 volunteers and next year we hope to recruit more so that the Kiosk may remain open for longer each day.”
Tralee was a hive of activity this summer with a host of events including the Kerry Activity Experience, Heroes Week and the Rose of Tralee International Festival attracting thousands of people to the town.
Each volunteer dealt with an average of 115 queries as the Kiosk complimented the Fáilte Ireland Tourist Office in providing visitors with quality information about what Tralee has to offer.
Kieran Ruttledge has also paid tribute to another group of local volunteers who were involved in securing another Gold Medal for Tralee in the All-Ireland Tidy Towns Competition.
“The town owes a debt of gratitude to the people who came out every week to clean the various litter blackspots in our town. Their efforts were justly rewarded when Tralee retained the Gold Medal in the Tidy Towns Competition. Joan O’Regan deserves a special word of thanks for her leadership on the initiative to make Tralee a cleaner place for locals and visitors alike,” said Kieran.
He said the higher goals need to be achieved and the people of Tralee must take pride in the success-stories and spread the word that Tralee is a great place to live, work and visit.
Anyone who is interested in helping Tralee to retain the Tidy Town Gold Medal and/or give some of their time to work in the Tourism Kiosk in 2014 should contact Tralee Chamber Alliance on 066-7117558 or email Kieran@Tralee.ie.
