7. Tourism
• Proposed that Thomastown to be a part of the ‘Dig a Little Deeper’ of Kilkenny Tourism Plan.
• Within the Tourism County Tourism plan, it was proposed that Thomastown be considered to have a focus as a Creative Arts & Cultural destination hub for the County, supporting all existing creative schools and educational facilities, such as The Grennan Craft School, The Pottery Skills Course, The School of Food, as well as the creative arts initiatives/creative annual festivals & events which have been established in the town. For example : St Patrick’s wheelbarrow Dash, Thomastown Creative Arts Festival, The Art of Upcycling, Pumpkins in the Park and Christmas in Thomastown.
• Visitors to the town would have access to all the natural & built amenities of the Norman Walled Town such as The Thomastown Heritage Walk, the proposed Community Loop Walks, the River Nore and associated recreational sports, the Thomastown Community River Trust/Weir Pools etc. Visitors also have access to a variety of shops, unique accommodation, such as Glamping sites, Air BnB, B&B, as well food outlets such restaurants, cafes, pubs and well-being treatment facilities.
• There needs to be a more proactive approach to the development of rural tourism in County Kilkenny. One way of doing this is have initiatives in geographical areas, for example the triangle of the towns/villages of Thomastown/Inistioge/Graiguenamanagh all have accessibility to the river and beautiful countryside. They should be linked in terms of activities, rural transport and marketing activities and sold as a product (for example the triangle of South Kilkenny). Someone from Kilkenny Tourism/Kilkenny County Council needs to drive this project with consultation from the local communities. The section of the Thomastown-Inistioge river walk needs to be further promoted and marketed and a rural bus link provided to bring people back, as most people just do it one way and there is no transport back.
• There needs to be more concrete initiatives/plans in the area of Tourism and more support from the local authority in terms of organising things. Volunteers from local communities have limited time and resources as they have businesses to run and are giving of their time on a voluntary basis. Rural Tourism is a great driver of economic growth and thus resources need to be put into developing it.