.
Businesspeople and public representatives join together in The Square on Monday to launch the MyTralee movement from Tralee Chamber Alliance. Photo by Domnick Walsh
TRALEE Chamber is calling on all businesses and the people of Tralee to be united in making sure no one gets left behind in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the MyTralee movement, the Chamber is launching a new online business marketplace aimed at supporting businesses in the town through the ‘Reopening’ stages. The marketplace is hosted on the Tralee.ie website under https://tralee.ie/mytralee/
In a show of solidarity for their town and their colleagues, Tralee Chamber are asking the people of Tralee to help them reverse the trend of business closures that affected the town pre-covid19, by committing to supporting every business in the town centre to reopen.
Continued below…
.
To help this commitment they are calling on the people of Tralee, and Kerry to support the Kingdom’s Capital in their MyTralee movement.
United, the businesses of Tralee will commit to doing everything possible to make Tralee the safest town in Ireland for their customers, by seeking 100% compliance on social distancing and public safety measures in their businesses and throughout the town.
Tralee Chamber are offering a range of initiatives, including a ‘MyTralee’ online listing of Tralee businesses across a range of categories, who are open for trading or approaching their ‘Reopening Date’, along with support across a number of key areas to assist businesses to reopen and to also trade online.
The MyTralee Marketplace is open to businesses in a range of sectors right across Tralee, with each business receiving a full listing during the current climate and in the aftermath, including:
• Salons and Spas under the ‘Lifestyle’ section
• Retailers and Grocery under the ‘Shopping section
• Cafes and Restaurants under the ‘Dining’ section
• Activities, Gyms and Attractions under the ‘Activities’ section
• Hotels, BnBs and Guest Houses under the ‘Short Breaks’ section
• Pubs and Venues under the ‘Pubs and Events’ section
The move is a first step in response to the crisis that many small business are facing.
Ken Tobin, CE of Tralee Chamber and Co-Owner of Yummy Café and HQTralee said; “I’m tired of seeing businesses close, MyTralee is about the people of Tralee standing up to support our own, this is our town, these businesses support us, employ us, they are part of our community and throughout the crisis they were there for us.
“Now its everyone’s turn to try and keep these jobs in our town, now when we need to more than ever. We have committed in the Chamber to leave no business behind and we will fight for every business that needs our support”.
“We have an opportunity, through solidarity between the people of Tralee and all the businesses, for change. We have no time for negativity, we need to finally start working together as a town and lay the foundations for a stable and more ambitious economy and society. We need to shake off any inferiority complex we had so we can build a better town for the next generation.”
Sandra Rusk, Retail Chairperson of Tralee Chamber, and owner of Weardrobe said; “This initiative is a good example of leadership as we all stand by our local businesses in an unprecedented time. For years online giants have been overpowering our businesses, and with the crisis so many of us have developed our own websites. We have taken back control and can now offer convenience, expertise as well as that very important personal touch”.
Michelle King, Tourism Chairperson of Tralee Chamber and Director of Sales and Marketing at The Rose Hotel said; “The hotels will be reopening soon around Tralee, and we need the people of Tralee to support us. We want everyone to encourage their friends and family in Ireland to come to visit Tralee later this year, and we want to showcase a real community spirit in Tralee.”
Johnny McElligott, Publican Representative on Tralee Chamber and Owner of Sean Ogs Pub, echoed the call; “No one could have foreseen what has happened and to have the shutters pulled down, but our bars and restaurants are going to try their best to get through the next year, and it will be the people of Tralee that will make it happen for us. We need people to choose Tralee first for their nights out”.
In this first step, the online MyTralee platform will be accompanied by online training and mentoring with initiatives such as the weekly EShow webinars, along with practical help and support from the Tralee Chamber team across all sectors.
Local businesses who want to go online or to improve their online offering will be connected with local specialists and service providers who can provide that assistance.
Companies who are interested in taking up the offer are asked to register their interest by emailing david@tralee.ie
Announcing the initiative, TD Norma Foley said; “In this extraordinary time, it is truly reflective of the strength and fortitude of the businesses in Tralee to come together to work through this crisis. I must applaud Tralee Chamber for the support they have provided throughout the crisis to the businesses not just in Tralee, but throughout the county. The MyTralee online platform and movement will prove to be just one of those measures that will bring everyone together to keep our town centre alive.”
Significant interest has also been shown by the private sector in providing support for this movement to assist small businesses, and Tralee Chamber welcome interest from larger companies throughout Kerry that want to come on board to support MyTralee.
Kevin McCarthy, MD of the Garvey Group and President, Tralee Chamber said; “Tralee’s businesses give our town its character and support our communities and charities throughout the year, it is absolutely vital to Tralee that we do everything we can to protect that.
“The Chamber is committed to working with all our partners to make it easy for Tralee people to support local businesses and keep the spend local at a time that we need all the support we can get, every one euro spent in a local business is worth three euro to the local Tralee economy. As some of our local businesses have limited e-commerce capabilities, the MyTralee Marketplace will help bridge the gap for them by promoting these local businesses.”
In the coming weeks the Chamber will map out further detailed proposals for short, medium and long-term interventions to support Tralee and Kerry’s economy, while continuing to advocate for the short-term supports businesses need to recover from the covid19 shutdown. Visit: https://tralee.ie/mytralee/
