Getting the weather balance right is key to the success of a leading tourist attraction. The Aqua Dome — an indoor, water-based facility in Tralee, Co Kerry — is at the mercy of the elements, as chief executive Kieran Ruttledge explains.
“If the weather is very bad, the tourists won’t come here in the first place, and if it’s too fine, they go to the beach,” he says.
“If we had a season with three beach days and four dull days per week, it would suit us grand.”
Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Aqua Dome had losses of €30,000 last year, with the exceptionally good summer weather being a factor, as people headed in their droves to nearby beaches such as Banna, Ballyheigue, and Inch.
Since it opened in May 1994, the Aqua Dome has played a major role in putting Tralee on the map as a family destination. The impetus came from the community, with the aim of drawing more visitors to Tralee.
“We are very proud to reach such a significant milestone in the life of Kerry’s number one, fee-paying, tourist attraction, which is also among the top 20 tourist attractions nationally,” says Mr Ruttledge.
However, numbers have fallen from a peak of 260,000 per year to 140,000 last year, with competition from other facilities having an impact.
“When the Aqua Dome first opened, it was quite an unusual facility and ahead of its time, but several other facilities have since opened throughout the country,” says Mr Ruttledge.
“As well as that, people are going to bigger water parks abroad.
“Changing holiday patterns are also affecting us. For instance, the days when people took a traditional two-week holiday in Kerry are gone. People now holiday more often, but for shorter periods.”
There are also several rival attractions in Tralee including a multi-screen cinema complex, a museum, and a windmill.
Not forgetting, of course, the recession and the fact that people have less money to spend.
Furthermore, chairman of the Aqua Dome board of directors and one of its founding fathers, Denis Reen, has warned that the re-emergence of litigation culture and compensation claims are also threatening the future of the Aqua Dome.
A change from oil to gas has resulted in a 20% saving in the energy budget and the directors are constantly looking at ways of reducing costs.
The pool has 750,000 litres of water, which gives an idea of the scale of energy requirements to heat it.
“We must maintain our costs as best we can and improve our service level as best we can. We’re open all year round as a facility for people visiting Tralee and for local people,” says Mr Ruttledge.
“In the off-season, we employ 19 people and that number easily doubles in high season.”
And the prospects for this year? ‘’It all depends on the summer and is very much down to the months of July and August,” he says.
Earlier this year, the stand-out building with the landmark glass dome on the western side of Tralee sustained storm damage and was closed for several weeks for repairs.
Plenty of famous people have made a splash at the Aqua Dome during the first 20 years, including Hollywood actor Colin Farrell who filmed a scene for Drinking Crude in 1996.
It’s 10 years since comedian Des Bishop spent a week working on the minimum wage in the Aqua Dome as part of his TV series, Des Bishop’s Work Experience. Other celebrities to visit include former Ireland soccer manager Mick McCarthy, Rose of Tralee hosts Ray D’Arcy and Ryan Tubridy, and actor Colm Meaney.
[http://www.aquadome.ie]www.aquadome.ie[/url].
Dome goes the distance
Aqua Dome facts:
- There are 750,000 litres of water in the pool;
- There are 384 panes of glass in the dome — 192 panels but they are double-glazed;
- The flume slide is 90m high and the lazy river is 90m long;
- The fastest time down the flume slide is 8.96 seconds;
- Some 835,000kwh of electricity is used every year;
- Some 200,000 litres of oil were used annually — this has now been changed to gas;
- Kerry footballers have trained in the Aqua Dome;
- The Rose of Tralee contestants and their families visit every year.
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