Tour operators on voyage of discovery along Wild Atlantic Way

Tour operators on voyage of discovery along Wild Atlantic Way
Niamh Whelan and Caroline Cole with international tour operators on the Wild Atlantic Way

International tour operators get a flavour of the Wild Atlantic Way on their visit to Cork and Kerry

Approximately thirty influential tour operators from across Europe, India, Australia and the US were in Ireland this week to experience first-hand the Wild Atlantic Way in the South West area in order to promote it in their holiday packages for 2014. The trip was organised by Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland, to showcase the many tourism experiences around the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s first ever long-distance driving route, due to open in March 2014.
 
Earlier this year Minister Ring announced the final route of the Wild Atlantic Way which will stretch from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork, and will allow future visitors an opportunity to truly discover the west coast.

The tour operators enjoyed a number of experiences along the Cork route which took them to Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa before meeting with Jim Kennedy of Atlantic Sea Kayaking to experience a West Cork Moonlight night time trip. The following day the group headed out from Baltimore Pier to spend the morning whale watching off the coast of West Cork stopping off at Cape Clear Island for lunch at Sean Rua’s cafe.  The group then headed off exploring Kerry via the Ring of Kerry and Killarney before enjoying a chocolate making master class at Skellig & Cocoa Bean Chocolates in Ballinskelligs, and from there to Portmagee & Valentia Island, Dingle, and The Blasket Centre at Dunquin.

Fiona Monaghan, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of the Wild Atlantic Way, commented:

“The Wild Atlantic Way is a very exciting project and I’m certain it will be a major tourism attraction.  But to make it happen we all need to get on board. There has been a great response so far and I’m encouraging tourism operators, local authorities, business people and residents to stay involved.  The overseas tour operators were given an advance ‘sneak-peek’ of the route around Cork and Kerry with Fáilte Ireland’s International Publicity team to show them just what their clients can expect along the route from next year on. These overseas tour operators are here with a view to negotiating business for 2014 and the Wild Atlantic Way will provide a big boost to many pitches.

“Developing a route like this is an important part of ensuring Ireland is able to provide visitors with an unforgettable experience. It will open up a huge number of towns and attractions to them and showcase the scenery and unique culture of the West Coast of Ireland providing easy access to a range of experiences along the route.

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ENDS

For further information please contact:
Catherine Whelan - 087 6449572

Note for Editor

The Wild Atlantic Way is Ireland’s first long-distance driving route.  Stretching from the Inishowen Peninsula in Donegal to Kinsale in County Cork, the route will offer visitors an opportunity to truly discover the West Coast.  Following a comprehensive public consultation process, the 2,500km route has been finalised and includes 156 discovery points along the way.  At this stage the route comprises of a main spine but in time, a series of looped itineraries will be created to further develop the experience for visitors.

Along with the relevant local authorities and other stakeholders, Fáilte Ireland has been working on the Wild Atlantic Way for the past year with significant progress to date in terms of route identification and an overall brand.  Over the next year the focus will be on preparing a signage plan for the route along with ensuring the discovery points are visitor-ready.

In addition, the tourism authority will be working with tourism businesses along the route environs to help them deliver and package their Wild Atlantic Way experiences.  A series of workshops will take place focussing on the main target markets of Great Britain, France, Germany and the USA.  A marketing strategy for the overseas promotion of the project will be rolled out in time for the launch of the route in March 2014.  

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