It’s all Gaelic to me…

Saturday, 03 May, 2005 0

New laws to ensure that all road signs in Ireland are written in Gaelic have caused confusion among tourists.

According to The Daily Telegraph, hundreds of foreign visitors have reported getting lost – with some straying as far as 60 miles off-course – since the new law was introduced. The law is intended to make sure the country preserves its culture but the newspaper states that it is already proving a matter of concern for the tourist industry.

Just 90,000 of the country’s inhabitants are fluent in Gaelic.

The Telegraph’s reporter Thomas Harding describes how two Parisian travellers, with “much shrugging”, complained: “We are lost.We have just gone through a village but we did not know its name.This change is not very good for us tourists.”

However Rachel Hendry, 29, from Edinburgh, reportedly said: “I don’t mind if we get lost because it makes it more interesting. We took a wrong turn and now we have found something beautiful.”

A spokesman for the tourist ministry is quoted as saying: “Obviously we accept that this is an issue for tourists but the reason why a lot of people go there is because they are Irish speakers.”

Report by Tim Gillett,
News From Abroad Ltd www.newsfromabroad.com



 



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...