The phonecalls and emails are beginning to flow in to Carlingford s tourism providers as the Irish public prepare for another summer of holidaying at home.
While Finance Minister Pascal O Donoghue said last week that it was too early to say whether summer staycations would be possible, An Tanaiste Leo Varadkar had said previously that holidays at home would be possible this summer.
Although the roadmap for coming out of lockdown has yet to be finalised, the Irish public are busy getting out their own maps and making plans for some domestic travelling once the restrictions are lifted.
Carlingford is ideally placed to benefit from the pent up demand for a change of scenery, with an experienced cohort of tourism providers keen to make up for lost business.
Carlingford is without a tourist office at the moment as Richard Brennan of Visit Carlingford, who has been operating the service in the Old Station House, has had to close the office and run the business from home.
Like others in the tourism sector, his business has been badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, but he is cautiously optimistic about the summer season. Things are still very much up in the air but people are making bookings for June/July/August, he says. We are getting inquiries from all over the country. They are looking to get away with their families so there is a lot of demand for self-catering. People have been cooped up for months and they just want a change of scenery, even if it s only for a weekend or a few days. That s what it will be about this year - catering for the staycation market.