The Celtic Wave – Developing a Sea of Smiles

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Celtic Wave aims to facilitate a collaborative approach to the further growth and development of the cruise ship industry in the Irish Sea. This will be delivered by the following objectives: • To create one managed brand for the Irish Sea cruise ground. • To raise and promote the profile of the Irish Sea as a cruise ship destination. • To create a consistent welcome for cruise passengers who visit the Irish Sea cruising grounds. • To create a strong working coalition of all cruise industry partner organisations of both Ireland and Wales. If cultural synergy is viewed as a crucial element of the promotional mix then a Welsh-Irish partnership has much going for it in terms of uniqueness & with a proposition that will appeal to a large and identifiable market. The 'Celtic Wave' project is a highly innovative project and this is an opportune time to develop a strategic working partnership between Ireland and Wales within the cruise tourism market. Innovation combined with creative and entrepreneurial flair can encapsulate the cultural uniqueness of the Welsh-Irish connection and this has been identified as the key element to tap into in order to satisfy the wants of a latent but well defined target audience of cruise passengers by creating an attractive new cruise product. As rising fuel costs are seriously affecting the profitability of cruise lines there is a growing desire by these lines to be more fuel efficient. The ‘Celtic Wave’ initiative can show the way to achieving reduced fuel costs on selected cruise itineraries that minimise steaming times between ports and therefore lowering the carbon footprint. We will also seek to address the added values of the brand, cultural synergy, location, shared values & unique selling points which would lead to a globally competitive offer on the Irish Sea as a cruise destination to cruise companies as well as raising its existing profile and can only result in the regeneration of the areas.

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