The buzz words on some people’s lips across Fermanagh this summer was “staycation”, as foreign travel was banned – unless it was to a very limited list of countries.

The Impartial Reporter spoke to some tourism vendors in Fermanagh to see if the Government’s advice to holiday at home had any impact on their business.

On the river Erne in front of Enniskillen Castle, Barry Flanagan, of Erne Water Taxis, has been welcoming visitors from across Ireland back onto the Erne.

Unlike some other attractions, Barry did not open for business until August 1.

He said: “We wanted to make sure everyone was safe, and to make sure we could keep the place cleaner and follow all [Coronavirus] protocols.

“We were closed for four months, we were unsure when we could open and how it would all work.”

There was an increase of visitors to the county and Barry said “we had positive numbers” coming to Fermanagh.

He added: “I had a busier August than last year, but that was down to a number of reasons.”

Barry is “hopeful” that his business will continue to grow. He laughed as he said: “I’m hopeful, but then again you have to be if you’re working in tourism.”

There were a lot of Fermanagh people taking time out on the lough with Barry at Erne Water Taxis and “lots of people from the far end of the country, like Larne and Carrickfergus, as well as from the south.”

Further along, and family is at the heart of Drumhooney Caravan Park, Lisnarick, located on the banks of Lower Lough Erne .

Peter Bradshaw has managed the business for the past few years and ensured that family is still at the heart of the business.

He said: “Usually the season is busy in set weeks in July and August, but the caravan park has been very busy. I think people were just happy to be out.

“I think that staycations will continue on; visitors to the caravan park had said they would do this over a foreign holiday.”

He added that “tourism in Fermanagh is improving; the tourist board has been helpful in that, and the attractions like the Cuilcagh boardwalk [are very popular]”.

Peter also runs the Castle Archdale Boat Hire and Water Sports business out of the nearby Castle Archdale – another popular tourism spot.

He recently invested in ‘hydrobikes’, which have proved very popular with holidaymakers.

He revealed: “The Hydrobikes were booked out every day, the rain didn’t stop people. Usually, it’s about a 90/10 breakdown of visitors from outside Fermanagh, but this year it was 50/50 with visitors.”

To meet the demand for his services and to keep the premises clean and safe for Covid-19 purposes, Peter had to hire more staff.

He said: “Usually in the summer, we had four or five staff. [but we’re] now up to eight or nine a day”

Straddling the border of Fermanagh and Cavan at the other end of Lough Erne is Corraquil Cruising Holidays, ran by Sean Drumm. The Dutch barges of Corraquil are a more unique sight on the lough.

Reflecting on his season Sean said: “It was not too bad at all. It has been fairly good, as we were late starting. We had no commitments at all, so we were glad when it started”.

Like other tourism vendors, Sean had a busy season: “A lot of people stayed more, there were more people than there would have usually been.

“The barges were out all of July and August. We had visitors from all over the island of Ireland. Some of them were first-time boaters, people trying it for the first time, as well as people still at home wanting to do something different – especially people with children.”

He added: “A lot of people listened to what they were told, so the message to stay at home [and take a staycation] did help the business.”