Castlebar Chamber is hoping to boost visitor numbers and the local economy, by staging more events and developing tourism initiatives in the county town.
The chamber has appointed Michael Baynes as the dedicated events coordinator and tourism officer for Castlebar.
Mr Baynes brings considerable experience to the role, both as a business person in the town and as an events coordinator.
He was one of the organisers of the hugely successful In Humberts Footsteps event held in Castlebar last year.
The event was a largescale recreation of the French invasion led by General Humbert in 1798, which attracted more than 10,000 visitors to Castlebar and was named the Best Gathering Event nationally in 2013.
Mr Baynes, a successful musician, also brings his experience in the entertainment industry to the role.
Castlebar Town Council made the funding available to the chamber to appoint the events coordinator and tourism officer.
Mr Baynes said he was delighted to take up the position and believes there is plenty of scope to greatly increase visitor numbers to Castlebar.
“This town is a great destination,” he explained.
“We have so many things going for us. We have leisure facilities, a mall in the centre of the town, a wonderful lake, every kind of sports club imaginable, and a top class theatre. We have all the facilities we need to grow our visitor numbers.”
Part of Mr Baynes’ remit will be to work with voluntary and community groups which have an idea for an event and would benefit from his assistance in bringing their idea to fruition.
President of Castlebar Chamber, Sylvester Jennings, said having a dedicated tourism officer and events coordinator should bring about an economic boost for local businesses and traders.
“This new appointment will help us to increase the profile of Castlebar as a top destination, with a wide and varied, year round calendar of events, encouraging more people to visit the town and enjoy all it has to offer from our wonderful recreational facilities to our top class shopping. That, in turn, should provide a boost to the local business community.”
Michael Baynes can be contacted on (087 ) 3419574 or (094 ) 9024845 or call into the Castlebar Chamber office on Linenhall Street.
