Bord Failte is close to signing a deal with Stephen Roche to promote Ireland's staging of the early stages of the 1998 Tour de France. Roche's fee will come out of the extra £5 million which the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, has allocated to Bord Failte but its director of communications, Mr Chris Kane, declined to say how much the deal is worth.
Roche could not be reached for comment but Bord Failte said he will make personal appearances at tourism exhibitions and fairs in Continental Europe. "The deal is not quite finalised but it is safe to say we are almost there," Mr Kane said. Roche is understood to have other opportunities to promote the 1998 Tour de France as the only Irishman to have won it, and Mr Kane said Bord Failte was keen that the main thrust of his contribution should be to promote Irish tourism.
Roche played a key role in getting the Tour de France to start in Dublin in 1998. The tour is reckoned to reach a television audience of more than 300 million people, mainly in the Continental European markets which Bord Failte is targeting. The tour will begin in Dublin with specially chartered ferries bringing in about 3,000 people including the cyclists and their equipment, Tour de France officials and the international press. After two days in Ireland, the group will leave from Cork. With the Ryder Cup coming to Ireland in 2005, Bord Failte views the event as one of the most significant opportunities to gain international coverage for Ireland as a tourist destination.