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Tag Archives: Wild Atlantic Way

Daily Telegraph highlights Clare

A TOURISM Ireland campaign is under way in The Daily Telegraph showcasing the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland to British holidaymakers. The campaign includes a series of articles about Ireland in the Saturday travel section of The Daily Telegraph, which has readership of 1.4 million people across Britain. An article Be a wild rover along Ireland’s dramatic coast, highlights the Wild Atlantic Way and “the towering Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, where you can stare west across to the Aran Islands”. The campaign also includes a specially-created ‘Indulge in Ireland’ hub on The Telegraph website. Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said, “Our partnership with The Daily Telegraph is another excellent opportunity to highlight Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way. Tourism Ireland is actively promoting longer-stay holidays and encouraging British travellers to come and discover Ireland by car. Visitors who use a car on holidays tend to stay longer, spend more and are more likely to visit more than one region.”

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Clare B and Bs doing well

B&B Ireland say their bookings in Clare rose 14% last year, and overseas visitors were up 18% – beating the national increase of 10% in overseas visitors. “We have launched a campaign across the county to recruit more B&B owners to meet the demand”, said local B&B Ireland member Michael Webb. Mr Webb says booking revenue into Clare, for the first quarter between January and March, is up 10%, which further reinforces the demand for B&B properties here. “B&B Ireland alone had over 10,500 bookings in the county last year – that’s up over 1,000 bookings on the year before”, says Michael, who’s the owner of the 4 star Glocca Morra B&B, in Killaloe. Michael attributed the phenomenal success of 2016 to a combination of factors. “There is a major increase of USA visitors due to the favourable exchange rate; flying into Shannon Airport as opposed to Dublin Airport is much easier and is the gateway to the West of Ireland. There is also a …

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Search called off as body found in Salthill

Gardaí have confirmed the search for a Belfast man missing in North Clare since earlier in the week has been called off following the discovery of a body in Galway. The search for the 22-year-old man from Belfast, who has been missing since Monday afternoon, was stood down following the discovery of a body near Salthill in Galway on Wednesday evening. Drone technology had been deployed during the week in the search for the 22 year-old who was reported missing after he failed to return to his tour bus which had stopped at Ballyreen, on the Wild Atlantic Way, between Fanore and Lisdoonvarna, at the designated time of departure. Volunteers from the Doolin coastguard responded when the alarm was raised around 2.30pm and they conducted a sea search. Land based teams were also engaged in combing the cliff top and shoreline while the Shannon based search and rescue helicopter was also involved. The search was co-ordinated by the gardaí backed …

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Broadening the Wild Atlantic Way

Two new touring routes, branching off the Wild Atlantic Way, have been launched by Minister of State for Tourism Patrick O’Donovan, as part of a new pilot scheme from Fáilte Ireland to encourage visitors to discover the variety of inland visitor experiences as they travel along the Wild Atlantic Way. The Shannon Estuary Drive and the Burren Drive are the first in a series of drives to be developed adjacent to the Wild Atlantic Way with additional routes planned for later next year. Welcoming the initiative to broaden visitor activity in the west, Minister O’Donovan said, “As the Wild Atlantic Way continues to grow three years since its launch, we can now start to develop additional experiences for visitors to enjoy and, vitally, through initiatives like this we can start to plan for a more even spread of visitors across the West of Ireland.” These new touring routes will incorporate existing sites in the wider geography adjacent to the Wild …

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Wild Atlantic Way delivers ‘added value’

The Wild Atlantic Way, developed by Fáilte Ireland, has been awarded a commendation at the prestigious Landscape Institute’s Awards 2016. Competing with 43 projects from both the UK and around the world, the Wild Atlantic Way received the “Highly Commended” Award for the Adding Value Through Landscape category for its branding and Interpretation scheme, at a ceremony in London today (Thursday). The rationale behind the branding and interpretation scheme is to engage the visitor along the coastal touring route, provide a memento of their visit to each Discovery Point (where they can capture photos and digital content at Photo Points) and through interpretation panels introduce visitors to the local stories and customs of the area to encourage increased dwell time in these often remote coastal locations and encourage spend in the local community. The Landscape Institute’s Awards are presented to landscape professionals in recognition of their outstanding work, and to encourage excellence. Every year, the Institute acknowledges those working on …

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Scattery Island plans making progress

POSITIVE progress is being made on the development potential of Scattery Island as a tourism destination. The Office of Public Works has appointed conservation architects to prepare a Conservation and Management Plan, which will see Scattery Island as the first off-land destination point on the Wild Atlantic Way. Councillor Gabriel Keating said, “It is great to see Clare County Council, the Office of Public Works and the local community working together to deliver on the undoubted potential that there is.” He said the appointment of the conservation architects, combined with the upgrading of the exhibition in the Scattery Island Visitor Centre and the proposed enhancement of ferry services to the island, offer the prospect of Scattery further developing into a key and unique part of the Wild Atlantic Way. “I know also that the council is looking at a Rural Economic Development Zone (REDZ) project for the island, which will further develop heritage tourism in the wider Kilrush area. The …

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Cliffs of Moher’ visitors rise

For the third year in a row, numbers at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience have passed the one million mark within a calendar year. The award-winning attraction reached the figure on August 22, three weeks ahead of the date the milestone was reached in 2015 and seven weeks earlier than the same point in 2014. It is now on track to exceed its record visitor total of 1,251,574 people in 2015. The Clare County Council owned attraction has undergone substantial investment in product and facilities in recent years, while its position as a signature point along the 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way has contributed to its growing popularity. “These significant visitor numbers are fantastic for the local tourism sector and the wider West of Ireland economy,” said centre director, Katherine Webster.

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Walking for Crumlin in West Clare

Kildare man Paddy Kane is walking Clare’s stunning coastline as part of a personal challenge and to raise much needed funds for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin. Today (Friday) the retired ESB Networks employee is in Kilkee. On July 1, Paddy’s first steps of a 2,500km-long journey commenced in Malin Head. Averaging about 30km per day on coastal trails and by-roads, Paddy is hoping to reach Kinsale Co Cork – the end of the Wild Atlantic Way – by mid-September. “As it stands today in Kilkee I’m on schedule. I’m sticking to the plan of completing 30km a day, divided between 20km in the morning and 10km after lunch. At this pace, the adventure will be a total of 84 days of hilly climbs, forest floors and rural roads, all while carrying 15kg of equipment, including a tent. I’ve been unlucky with the weather for much of my time along the Clare coast, but the famed Cliffs of Moher …

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