Sarah & Eoin Heraty help launch a new Community Tourism Initiative for the Diaspora
€3m public/private initiative to support up to 700 local events annually
The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, today officially launched a new Community Tourism Initiative for the Diaspora which seeks to build on the legacy of The Gathering 2013. The initiative, a joint partnership between Fáilte Ireland, IPB Insurance and the 34 Local Authorities (under the auspices of the County and City Managers Association), will provide an annual fund of €1m over the next three years to support up to 700 local community-based events and festivals each year.
Launching the fund, Minister Ring pointed out:
“The Gathering was a great success all round. It brought people back to Ireland, and it got us all working together. But the real reason it worked so well was because of the passion and drive of thousands of volunteers and communities around the country. People often ask me what the legacy of The Gathering should be.
“I believe The Gathering has brought communities together, near and far. Today’s initiative means we can support that legacy and build on the new relationships, and the many new projects that came out of 2013.”
The Community Tourism Diaspora Initiative is a direct response to one of the clear successes of last year’s The Gathering where 5,000 communities mobilised to harness their diaspora links for the benefit of local and community tourism.
The initiative announced today is jointly funded by Failte Ireland, IPB Insurance and the local authorities will be administered at county level where local authorities will seek applications for support from local community events. The objectives of the initiative are:
• To provide support in the form of small-scale funding incentives to community-based tourism events that have the capacity to carry through on the legacy of The Gathering in 2014 and beyond;
• To create a national network of local events with the capacity to deepen diaspora links and networks that have been developed or re-activated during The Gathering year;
• To foster the growth of strong county diaspora networks on the basis that diaspora relationships are rooted in ‘people and place’.
With an estimate of up to 700 local events capable of being supported and with each of these reckoned to have the capacity of attracting up to 50 visitors, the potential maximum impact of the fund could be an additional 35,000 visitors to Ireland each year over the next three years.
Commenting on the initiative’s potential to build on the legacy of The Gathering, Fáilte Ireland Director Paul Keeley emphasised:
“There clearly is an appetite out there to continue many of the Gathering community events which sprang up last year. Indeed, our own research on The Gathering showed that more than half of the organisers involved were interested in running their local event again. The initiative launched today is a very tangible proof that we wish to build on the legacy of The Gathering and nurture those grass roots networks which sprang to life last year”.
Local authorities throughout the country will now seek to clearly identify those local events with the best potential to be successfully repeated and to support them in their efforts to develop long-lasting diaspora connections. It is estimated that there are possibly 500-700 viable community events which could be supported in this way. A number of Gatherings held last year were recognised through the Excellence in Local Government Awards which highlighted those events that merit special attention.
The Local Authorities are to implement the initiative at county/city level and will be responsible for funds administration including grant applications and awards in accordance with agreed national criteria. In the next few days, they will be calling on all interested local parties to make their applications.
Mr Peter Hynes, County Manager, Mayo County Council (and representing the County and City Managers Association) said today:
“Local Authorities are delighted to be partner with Irish Public Bodies and with the Department of Transport Tourism and Sport in delivering this innovative and exciting initiative. Pride in Place and Pride in Community is at the heart of what we do in Local Government, and reaching out to and re-connecting with our Diaspora is a very important part of our work with our communities. The gathering demonstrated the phenomenal potential in this area and today's launch will maintain the momentum and keep the process moving forward.”
Today’s initiative is a public/private partnership with one third of the funding being provided by IPB Insurance as part of its Corporate Social Engagement strategy where the Irish diaspora is a nominated priority.
IPB Insurance CEO Ronan Foley said:
“Last year, an estimated 7% uplift in tourism numbers injected somewhere between €170-€220 million into the Irish economy. These results are remarkable. What is even more heartening is that tourism figures in the first quarter of this year are ahead of last year, suggesting that not only was the Gathering a success, it continues to grow in momentum.
“The public private partnership model adopted for The IPB Gathering Ireland Fund has proven very successful. IPB Gathering Fund regional flagship events accounted for at least €50 million in additional income for regional economies from additional overseas visitors. This figure is so important. Because it proves that every cent invested in Ireland is money well spent. It shows us that the Gathering works. It shows us that the model of social engagement through public private partnership also works.”
During The Gathering last year, €1 million in funding was provided by IPB Insurance to support events in every county or main city around the country.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Alex Connolly – Head of Communications
086 7966320/01 8847884
Louise Tolerton - Press Officer
086 6086578/01 8847135
Note for Editor
Fáilte Ireland - the national tourism development authority, was established in 2003 to guide and promote tourism as a leading indigenous component of the Irish economy. The tourism and hospitality industry employs an estimated 185,000 people and generates almost €5.7 billion in revenue a year.
Local Authorities Ireland - Local Government and the right of local self-government is a cornerstone of any modern democracy. Irish Local Authorities are the closest and most accessible form of Government to people in their local community. They have responsibility for delivery of a wide range of services in their local area with a focus on making towns and cities attractive places to live, work and invest. These services include housing, planning, roads, environmental protection, economic development, provision of recreation and amenities and community infrastructure. [
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IPB Insurance - ‘IPB’ is the only wholly Irish-owned general insurance company. Founded in 1926, IPB has grown to become one of the largest liability insurers in the Irish market and is proud to be the country’s only indigenous mutual insurer. An experienced underwriter of major liability, property and motor risks, IPB insures some of the largest assets and organisations in the State across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. IPB Insurance made Irish corporate history when it delivered a Social Dividend (of €5million) to the Irish public in 2012, a first for an Irish company.
The issuing of dividends to both the Membership of the Mutual and to Irish Society reflects IPBs ethos as a mutuality established to protect its local authority Members and their stakeholders, the Irish people. IPB has won national and international awards for risk management as well as been recognised nationally for community CSR initiatives, corporate reporting and transparency, service excellence and recognition as a ‘Top 1000 Company’.
The Gathering
The Gathering was a year-long tourism initiative which succeeded in mobilising communities all around Ireland to invite diaspora and friends to attend with, ultimately, over 5,000 special Gathering events taking place right across the country.
It is estimated that the project delivered at least 250,000 to 275,000 extra tourists in 2013 that would not have visited Ireland but for The Gathering.
During The Gathering, a total of circa 1,150 local and community events were funded under a special Community Fund allocated across the various Local Authority areas. This Community Events Fund was an important part of the Gathering programme with very positive results. While the individual amounts provided were quite small, it made an important contribution to many of the events to supplement the very substantial voluntary and community efforts on the ground.
Social Impact of The Gathering
Independent research conducted by the DIT School of Hospitality and Tourism found that The Gathering had a significant social and positive impact for those communities which engaged with the initiative. The key findings included:
• The Gathering encouraged the development of events that otherwise would not have been organized.
• It enhanced skills, capabilities and organizational structures of many existing events.
• 96% of event organisers believed their event to be a success.
• The Gathering encouraged self-reliance and capacity building among many communities and encouraged them to focus on tourism.
• 53% of respondents said that the Gathering has helped ‘create a vision for their area that wasn’t there before’
• 47% of community respondents think there will be a long term positive impact
• 73% of community respondents believed that the Gathering made the community more aware of the importance of tourism.
• Only 8% of event organizers were from the tourism sector.
• The Gathering ‘gave ordinary people a platform to do extraordinary things’.
• The Gathering resulted in a ‘pride of place’ and ‘self-belief’.
• There was a strong family emphasis to the Gathering: ‘it was families who really benefited... it brought them together’
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