15 July 2021
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Clonakilty, the wonderful town in West Cork – famous for it’s Blackpudding and many fine Tourist Hotels. Now it has an app.
A Clonakilty app was launched today at ‘The Waterfront’ building, with Clonakilty Chamber of Commerce Chairperson Orla O’Donovan, local retailers Oonagh Croke and Michelle Mitton and Mayor of Clonakilty Anthony McDermott. As Clonakilty welcomes tourists in their numbers, the new app is set to enhance the visitor experience.
08-07-2021 No Repro Fee. At the launch of the Clonakilty App were L to R. , Clonakilty Mayor Anthony McDermott, Orla O’Donovan, Oonagh Croke and Michelle Mitton. Photo by Dermot Sullivan.
Designed on the Xplore digital infrastructure for towns developed by Galway based company, Booniverse Limited, the Clonakilty app platform allows users to interact with a variety of towns without having to download multiple apps or visit multiple websites. Users enable location services or select a region to stay local.
Chamber’s Chairperson Orla O’Donovan said that the app project team have been working tirelessly with Booniverse over the past number of months to get the app ready for release.
O’Donovan comments: “The Chamber has been anxious to set up a town app and in particular, one with a digital voucher package. We already have a very successful Clonakilty Voucher Scheme operating since 2013, but we wanted to bring it into the digital era. This new digital voucher feature on the Clonakilty app will complement our present voucher scheme beautifully. Vouchers can now be purchased online, by simply going to www.clonakilty.ie”
She added: “The new Clonakilty app aims to better serve the needs of locals and tourists alike, especially in times like these when shopping and exploring locally has never been more important. Hospitality won’t be forgotten either when they reopen, with access to features that highlight their services, people and community impact.”
Clonakilty has now become part of Xplore’s growing network of towns that extends from Galway to Kerry, to Cork and Carlow. The launch is indicative of a wider movement in towns across the country, where enterprising locals are seeking out new and efficient ways to boost their local economies, attract tourists and promote their towns’ amenities.
Commenting on the launch, Xplore COO James Finan said: “We are delighted to be in partnership with Clonakilty. The response has been amazing and it shows how valuable and needed something like the Xplore Clonakilty App is. We are working with the communities in Galway, Fermoy, Tralee, Portumna and Youghal to keep them up to date and are currently preparing Killarney and Bagenalstown for rollout. We want Xplore to matter, to our clients, to our people, and in our communities both here in Ireland and other communities around the world. I would be very happy to speak with any group who wants this for their town.”
