Cliffs of Moher now Pay Per View!

dr.fuzzenstein

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/now-its-euro6-to-visit-cliffs-of-moher-2239552.html

Looks like you're going to have to cough up E6 if you want to look at the cliffs now.
So, after finally getting rid of that pesky Ryanair (sure all they did was bring thousands of Euro into the region), the visitor center at the Cliffs is suffering badly (no, can't see the connection either) and, in the finest Irish tradition, what do you do if your business fails?
You raise your prices!
Of course that means that business will decline further, but no worries, just keep jacking up those prices and ignore all the people yelling at you for being an imbecile.
Maybe it's not a dramatic shift, but it's an alarming sign amongst a sea of blaring hooters and flashing red lights.
After the airport charge and a total failure to get themselves included into the West of Ireland campaign, general failure to invest into anything but the cliffs, a total failure to attract more tourism, we're just going to charge the people who come here more.
Because, as business in Ireland dictates, you charge more, so the ones who do come pay for the ones who don't.
I wanted to run off so many insults (thick mickery, etc...), but since my insults only go to 11 on a scale of 1-10 and the stupidity of Clare Co Co is somewhere at several million out of 10, I simply have nothing that could adequately describe this move.
Maybe we should charge people for the air when they arrive? Look at that sky, ohh, it'll cost you, turnstyles around Ennis, insert coin for entry, toll for the road (hey, are we missing out? Make it a tenner!), sure if word gets around you'll have to pay to take a piss in Ennis, surely the tourists will flock here!
I'm planning my exit from Clare, sadly I can't even use Shannon anymore since they go nowhere from it.
Clare will be an empty hole with no jobs (already there) that is going to be used as a housing estate for Limerick and Galway.
In fact, let Limerick take over, they cannot do a worse job and in fact would do a million times better job here than the current thickbrowed, sloping forehead, knuckledraggers, thick as pig sh*te, ignorant, incompetent, greedy, barely sentient cavemen that call themselves Clare Co Co.
Gobsh*tes!

baldbear

God its rediculous. I saw the wooden kiosk type ticket office there at the start of June. They wern't charging at that stage but i thought it was a place to pay to visit that crap visitor centre. But charging people to look at the ciffs is straight out of a Fr. Ted episode. The cliffs are a natural phenomenon like the Giants Causeway which is free so the Cliffs should be free. Greed is still alove and kicking, great tourism advertisement!

Run_to_da_hills

Its still free if you go there at night.

When I lived in town I would go there several times a year possibly 3 times in the summer, go to coffee shop and relax. Havent been there since summer 2008 thats when I got stung on an e8 parking charge.

dr.fuzzenstein

It's just so horrendously sad because Clare really has a lot going for it.
There's surfing, potholing, cycling, walking, lots of nice beaches, the pubs of course, an airport right at our doorstep, we could be wheeling in tourists by the planeload, but for some reason Clare Co Co seems to shut down anything that would get more tourists in and the gubberment isn't helping in any way.
If you asked a brilliant economics analyst to come up with a strategy to keep tourists out he would probably come up with don't advertise abroad, levy charges on tourists coming in and raise prices.
With these three simple measures you can be sure those pesky tourists won't bother you anymore.
You could put five good people in charge of tourism in Clare and with a minimum of fuss you could boost tourism by quite a bit within a year.
For some reason the 25 state bodies who waste millions on nothing much that I can see and mostly seem to work against each other have singularly managed to achieve the exact opposite.
But the general thinking seems to be "This is Ireland, people will come here by default so it's no harm to rip them off, sure there's millions more suckers out there"

homer simpson

Ah now hold on from what i can make out it now costs just €6, for all attractions at the cliffs as oppossed to paying for each one individuly!!

So now instead of paying €8 for parking, and €4.50 for access to the visitor centre, you now get the everything for an all in price of €6! i say its a good move, it will encourage more people (like me) who are from ireland to go visit it more often rather than relaying on the tourist only market, therefore getting "bums on seats" so to speak or in other words getting more people through the door...

carmel27

Im originally from/live in Clare. I love the cliffs and go there regularly. I also bring/drag any of my friends that come to visit from other counties there two. Id say i go there, at least, a good 15-20 times every year. Its definitely one of my favourite places. (I probably sound like Im in love with the cliffs now!) I was even there yesterday!

I have always thought, since its introduction a few yrs ago, that the €8 car parking charge was a bit saucy. After all the cliffs are a natural attraction, and its a bit ridiculous slapping a car parking charge on them. However, you have to use the car park, (unless you want/can get parking in one of the 2 spots outside some poor farmers gate half a mile down the rd!) so not much you can do about that.

But I think its absolutely outrageous to expect every adult that wants to see tha cliffs to pay €6. I know it covers entrance to the visitors centre, but realistically, how many times are people, such as locals that go there regularly, going to want to visit that? Its going to be the same thing every time. I was in it once. It was grand, but it didnt change my life or anything. Id have no reason to want to go and see it again.

Im absolutely disgusted. Talk about putting people off! And what a stupid time to do it- things are bad enough in the tourist industry. Wait for it now: some genius will decide it'd be a great idea to charge people to walk on the beaches in Clare, and there'll be an extra charge if you want to swim or paddle in the water. And then they'll introduce a family ticket which will allow two adults, and up to three kids, to do both, but you'll have to rent out the sand, at an hourly rate, if the kids want to make sand castles.

I hate to say it, but when these charges are introduced in August, I will no longer be visiting the cliffs:(

Run_to_da_hills

homer_simpson wrote: »

Ah now hold on from what i can make out it now costs just €6, for all attractions at the cliffs as oppossed to paying for each one individual!!

So now instead of paying €8 for parking, and €4.50 for access to the visitor center, you now get the everything for an all in price of €6! i say its a good move, it will encourage more people (like me) who are from Ireland to go visit it more often rather than relaying on the tourist only market, therefore getting "bums on seats" so to speak or in other words getting more people through the door...

So would you visit the Interpretive center every time you want to take your missus on an evening stroll to the cliffs? I certainly wouldn't

I went there once and that was enough, maybe go inside for a coffee or snack but I could have done that in the old building.

I deplore the fact of paying e6 for each adult to subsidies some white elephant that myself and pleanty of others do not want to see each time we are in the area.

It would have been better the old way, ie e8 per car, e4 each. or better still before that when it was very popular with the locals.

carmel27

homer_simpson wrote: »

Ah now hold on from what i can make out it now costs just €6, for all attractions at the cliffs as oppossed to paying for each one individuly!!

So now instead of paying €8 for parking, and €4.50 for access to the visitor centre, you now get the everything for an all in price of €6! i say its a good move, it will encourage more people (like me) who are from ireland to go visit it more often rather than relaying on the tourist only market, therefore getting "bums on seats" so to speak or in other words getting more people through the door...

I like your enthusiasm.:) And sounds ok if you're visiting it on your own or with one other person. But...on the other hand....if you were visiting it with friends, and 5 of you went in the same car, you'd be paying €30, as opposed to just €8.

homer simpson

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

So would you visit the Interpretive center every time you want to take your missus on an evening stroll to the cliffs? I certainly wouldn't

I went there once and that was enough, maybe go inside for a coffee or snack but I could have done that in the old building.

I deplore the fact of paying e6 for each adult to subsidies some white elephant that myself and pleanty of others do not want to see each time we are in the area.

It would have been better the old way, ie e8 per car, e4 each. or better still before that when it was very popular with the locals.

Concidering that it is a 5 hour drive to get there i cant every forsee me taking the missus down for an evening stroll, lol.

I do think its a decent idea, myself, i was the one who started the "rip off clare thread" last year, its still on the first page on clare forum! its still too expensive for sure but its cheaper now than it was which IMO is a step in the right direction.

Run_to_da_hills

homer_simpson wrote: »

Concidering that it is a 5 hour drive to get there i cant every forsee me taking the missus down for an evening stroll, lol.

I do think its a decent idea, myself, i was the one who started the "rip off clare thread" last year, its still on the first page on clare forum! its still too expensive for sure but its cheaper now than it was which IMO is a step in the right direction.

You must be a loner.

If Im there it is usually with someone, ie friend or relatives, what was e8 is now up to e24 for a car of four.

The alternative is to take the motorbike and park it up the road and cut across a few fields.

Mr.Mister

Do you still have to pay for that little museum type tour thing that's inside the heritage centre?

I bet you do.

carmel27

Mr.Mister wrote: »

Do you still have to pay for that little museum type tour thing that's inside the heritage centre?

I bet you do.

I think, going by what I heard yesterday, that the €6 will cover everything except admission to O'Briens tower.

rockdrummer4

homer_simpson wrote: »

Ah now hold on from what i can make out it now costs just €6, for all attractions at the cliffs as oppossed to paying for each one individuly!!

So now instead of paying €8 for parking, and €4.50 for access to the visitor centre, you now get the everything for an all in price of €6! i say its a good move, it will encourage more people (like me) who are from ireland to go visit it more often rather than relaying on the tourist only market, therefore getting "bums on seats" so to speak or in other words getting more people through the door...

All attractions at the cliffs, its just the cliffs really, who cares about a stupid visitors center....

And how can you says its just 6 euro, it was 8 for a car, so if you had 4 or 5 people in the car its still 8. Now its 6 per person.... so even if you only have 2 people it is still more expensive.... No wonder its so easy to rip people off in Ireland...quite dim really !!

Run_to_da_hills

An elderly couple in West Belfast during the troubles would keep their front garden reasonably tidy

One day two rough looking guys came around in a van, "You need your lawn cut and your hedges trimmed" they said "no" replied the couple, "Its grand the way it is, we do it our selves". The two men then proceeded to landscape the garden against their wishes and then charged them £400 for the work that they didn't want.

Likewise thugs have taken over this wonderful natural asset of ours, landscaped it against our wishes at great expense and now intend to charge us for it.

dr.fuzzenstein

The cliffs are heading the way of the Eiffel Tower.
Nothing but a gaudy, overpriced tourist trap that only tourists would dream of visiting and all the locals would avoid like the plague.
Also, a major gripe of mine:
When I was there the last time I wanted to go to the edge and look over as usual and as I had done on previous occasions.
They now employ Father Ted style marshalls that will (I kid you not) blow a whistle at you if you go near the edge.
This has been done under the flimsy excuse of protecting the birds who absolutely do not build their nests on the ledge that is being protected by these whistle blowers.
And don't give me this "People will jump crap".
Yes they will.
And if we erect fences and keep people away from the cliffs themselves, they will still jump.
And if we make it completely inaccessible, they'll go somewhere else and jump.
So once again we have ruined something for everyone because of a small number of people.
One of the main attractions for me was to go right to the edge of the cliffs, lie down and poke my head over the edge, it's quite a thrill to look down.
Now you can't do that anymore and you have to pay €6 to gain access into what is basically an overpriced and crappy coffee shop, I'll just look at pictures of the cliffs on my computer, same thing but cheaper.
I liked the cliffs in the early 90's, it was pure and simple and everything you needed.
Now it's nothing but a gaudy, horrible amusement park, they might as well install rides and kiosks that sell candyfloss.
It's all down to basic attitudes in Irish government.
America: Yes We Can!
Germany: Yes we can, but it's got to be done properly.
England: Yes we can, I think so, maybe, we'll give it a shot, cup of tea it'll be right as rain.
Ireland: Oh Jesus, can't be doin' that, God no, we asked the solicitor and he conferred with the accountant and for legal reasons can't be done, it's against health and safety...

golfball37

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

An elderly couple in West Belfast during the troubles would keep their front garden reasonably tidy

One day two rough looking guys came around in a van, "You need your lawn cut and your hedges trimmed" they said, "no" said the couple, "Its grand the way it is, we do it our selves". The two men then proceeded to landscape the garden against their wishes and then charged them £400 for the work that they didn't want.

Likewise thugs have taken over this wonderful natural asset of ours, landscaped against our wishes at great expense and now intend to charge us for it.

Thats the property bubble in short too. Well said.

Housing estates built that weren't needed but who's paying for them now?

User Friendly

A terrible rip off.:(

Shapey Fiend

If they have to charge through the nose and the museum/bunker thing is still not making a penny then they should just close it down. No point in driving away every Irish person who has been once before and doesn't want to get scalped.

That said, it's currently ranked #1 in Europe (somewhat dubiously, but hey, it's a popularity contest) votes wise in the Natural Wonders of the World competition. Clare Co. Council must be seeing euro signs. http://sevennaturalwonders.org/europe

dr.fuzzenstein

Shapey Fiend wrote: »

If they have to charge through the nose and the museum/bunker thing is still not making a penny then they should just close it down. No point in driving away every Irish person who has been once before and doesn't want to get scalped.

The problem is the thinking behind the whole idea.
Raising prices because of declining business has never worked, will never work and certainly won't work in this case.
They should lower prices and get off their fat arses and promote Clare and the cliffs.
Just screwing everyone more and more is lazy, oirish, stupid, ignorant, thick, inbred and above all doomed to fail.
10k and my left nut.

mitresize5

this is what happens when you have public employees running commercial businesses

If that was a private company and someone suggested this method to reduce losses they would be either ignored/moved side ways or fired when it inevitably fails

100gSoma

I've been in touch with 4 Clare TDs over this. It will ultimately damage the local economy. A real "shooting yourself in the foot" moment by Clare CoCo.
I normally visit 2 or 3 times a year from Dublin with friends and visiting relations. Consequently we end up staying in Clare and spending money on B&B and pub/restaurant etc. I won't make this trip again. screw that. 24euro for a car of 4 adults visiting. No thanks. There is a Facebook group now, and letters popping up in local papers against it. Hopefully it will gather some momentum and they will reverse this silly decision.

The visitor centre is leaking money, but it's essentially a big giftshop and restaurant with 10euro bowls of 'irish stew'. They are charging to plug the leak. People go there to visit the cliffs not to buy 80euro aran sweaters in a gift shop. so short sighted to charge for the cliffs. sad day. Irelands greatest known natural attraction. Whats next? fence of the burren? 5euro in? Ailwee cave is 17euro per person for a 30min tour aswell. rip rip rip off!

Mr.Mister

carmel27 wrote: »

I think, going by what I heard yesterday, that the €6 will cover everything except admission to O'Briens tower.

I think it's ridiculous to charge to go see a natural thing that happens,there's nothing as such in the visitor centre anyway.

dr.fuzzenstein

Mr.Mister wrote: »

I think it's ridiculous to charge to go see a natural thing that happens,there's nothing as such in the visitor centre anyway.

Yes there is! A shop, a restaurant and an exhibition in which you can spend more money!
I don't envy the restaurant who have to do business there.
No doubt they're going to have to raise their prices in order to make up for falling demand, after all it's the officially recommended course of action to take when you're business is failing.
Business down 50%? No problem, prices up 50%, problem solved!
Here, I have an idea!
Why doesn't the Irish government raise all taxes by 50%, that way they will get twice the money, Ireland would be riding the crest of an economic wave in no time.
I'm sure they're working on it as we speak.
Sell up as long as you get more than E5 for your house and GTFO!

Balagan

http://www.dunphypr.com/index.php/2010/06/family-friendly-price-structure-introduced-at-cliffs-of-moher/

Read how reasonable the price changes seem at the hands of a good PR man.

If Mark Dunphy provided a Rewrite Your CV course, I would definitely sign up!

carmel27

Balagan wrote: »

http://www.dunphypr.com/index.php/2010/06/family-friendly-price-structure-introduced-at-cliffs-of-moher/

Read how reasonable the price changes seem at the hands of a good PR man.

If Mark Dunphy provided a Rewrite Your CV course, I would definitely sign up!

Oh my God. What are we moaning about?! Its actually a bargain. Good man Mark. (Wonder is this the same Mark Dunphy that hails from Clare and started out in his career in journalism in Clare FM?)

WolfeIRE

i think the story ahs been blown out of all proportions when you see the entrance fees for other sites. why did the media not include this. Look at Bunratty. Scandalous. So is Guinness Storehouse. Media coverage complaining about the Cliffs fee will cause more trouble for clare tourism than the fee itself. Silly season has started in earnest.

Shapey Fiend

Where's this Facebook page then?

91011

This is all a load of huff by a few people. Natural attractions worldwide have charges. Giants Causeway has £5 car park charge & there are feck all facilities there.

At least at the cliffs it has decent pathways, planty of safety features, wheelchair access, fairly good exhibition and one of the better souvenir stores with not too much plastic paddy stuff.

For locals they should have an annual pass similar to national stud (€70 per family for those in Kidare area)

Peter B

Can you drop your passangers off before you arrive in the car park?

Haven't been there since the wall was put up. In relation to the wall, why did they build it? If someone wanders over the edge is that not Darwins theory of natural selection in action?

Jim Martin

Peter B wrote: »

Can you drop your passangers off before you arrive in the car park?

Haven't been there since the wall was put up. In relation to the wall, why did they build it? If someone wanders over the edge is that not Darwins theory of natural selection in action?

This was suggested on Clare FM's "Morning Focus" prog yesterday morning (dropping off passengers who then walk through the pedestrians' entrance) for free but was obviously of concern to one speaker who was worried about the road safety implications. But it looks like they may have dug a hole for themselves!

Balagan

carmel27 wrote: »

Oh my God. What are we moaning about?! Its actually a bargain. Good man Mark. (Wonder is this the same Mark Dunphy that hails from Clare and started out in his career in journalism in Clare FM?)

One and the same.