The huge influx of visitors to Fermanagh over the weekend due to the hosting of the Circuit of Ireland Rally and other events, has given the county’s tourism operators confidence for this year.

    Thousands of people gathered in Enniskillen and various parts of the county as rally enthusiasts moved among the special stages from the start at Enniskillen Castle on Saturday, then on to St. Angelo on Saturday, to Belleek on Sunday and Clogher Valley area on Monday before the finish in Belmore Street on Monday afternoon. Apart from action on four wheels, Sunday also saw a stage of the “Tour of the North” cycle race when some of Ireland’s leading cyclists made their way through the county.

    Hotels, guesthouses and bed and breakfast establishments throughout the county were virtually booked out at some time over the Easter weekend.

    And according to Charlotte Wilson of the Tourist Information Centre, the Easter weekend will be one of many occasions this year when Fermanagh will be hosting special events.

    She said they were already looking forward to the Classic angling festival on the Erne beginning on May 6, and the hosting of the Border Trek cross-border cycle event which raises money for charity on June 21.

    She said it had been a busy weekend with about 1200 visitors making enquiries at the centre which stayed open throughout the holiday period. Easter Monday was the busiest of the days.

    “We had rally enthusiasts with people booking last minute accommodation and we had contacted all the accommodation providers to let us know of cancellations in case a lot of people turned up at the last minute,” she said.

    One group of people drove from Cork to see the end of the rally.

    She said many of the people staying over in the county were prepared to move out of Enniskillen to find accommodation and bookings were made in guesthouses in areas such as Kesh, Lisnaskea, Lisbellaw, Bellanaleck and Blaney.

    When Fermanagh District Council first became involved in talks with the Ulster Automobile Club, organisers of the Circuit of Ireland Rally, they could not have imagined the sheer interest in the biggest rally event in Ireland.

    Mr. Rodney Connor said he was overwhelmed by the success of the event.

    “I am delighted with the success of the whole event, with regards to those who organised it and the excellent work of the UAC and our local Enniskillen Motor Club, especially, Austin Frazer and Keith Boyd and our own staff who were involved in the preparation.

    “The response from the publc exceeded all our expectations. The hard work of the Council in attracting the event to Fermanagh has been certainly worthwhile. The traders have had an excellent weekend and many thousands of visitors and local residents have had a most enjoyable time. I have no doubt many of those who took the opportunity to come to Fermanagh for the weekend will return with their families.