Two Ennistymon area councillors in North Clare have expressed mixed reaction to newly released figures from the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience showing coach activity to the attraction consolidated last year.
Clare County Council has been told by Cliffs of Moher chief, Geraldine Enright fewer coaches could alleviate traffic issues, and help matters in and around the popular site in North Clare.
Emphasising that the key areas for concern for North Clare Fianna Fáil councillors are traffic, transport and the ability of local people to enjoy tourism benefits, Leas Cathaoirleach of West Clare Municipal District (MD), Councillor Joe Killeen (FF) said the tourism benefit to the community needs to be balanced against the inconvenience it causes.
The councillor expressed his disquiet saying he is “a little bit alarmed” there are more people on buses and it may be difficult for the county’s roads to cater for increased bus sizes without road upgrades.
“So when I look at the 1.38 million [visitor] figures; the funding that is coming in is not there to match that, and there are difficulties in improving the roads because of environmental reasons but the ambition to improve the roads does not match the ambition to improve the tourist attractions across the county,” Councillor Killeen said.
Meanwhile, Councillor Shane Talty (FF) giving his reaction said he found it “particularly encouraging” there was a reduction in the number of coaches visiting the site, with average coach occupancy levels increasing.
“This reduction in bus numbers is an improvement for locals trying to navigate the roads of North Clare, but also a more sustainable model with more occupants travelling on fewer buses. Hopefully efforts can continue to reconfigure the profile of visitors to the Cliffs of Moher and their impact on the locality in terms of adding economic value and reducing negative traffic impacts.”
However, he said it was interesting to note 2023 visitor numbers were 14% below the peak of 2019, and that industry data points to a further easing of international visitors through 2024 and 2025.
General Manager of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience, Geraldine Enright last week told a rural development directorate SPC meeting how coach activity to the site is consolidating with 34 people on average now travelling on coaches which has increased from 26 people in 2019. She described the shift in how visitors are actually coming to the Cliffs as “probably a positive thing from a community perspective,” as there are big issues in relation to traffic and transport in north Clare.
She also highlighted feedback from international tour operators who are reducing their business for 2025 meaning fewer people will come on tours of Ireland but numbers arriving independently by car will be strong.
Ms Enright stressed it would be “really good” for local business and the local economy; the theory being is visitors driving by car generally stop at more visitor attractions and other tourism related businesses locally and so spend more money than coach visitors.
The Cliffs chief also revealed figures for the distribution of visitors over the course of the day saying the attraction open for 13 hours from May 1.
Such statistics are important to people in north Clare who regularly experience traffic congestion and associated issues on local roads at peak summer times.
Sharon Dolan D’Arcy covers West Clare news. After completing a masters in journalism at University of Galway, Sharon worked as a court reporter at the Sligo Weekender. She was also editor of the Athenry News and Views.