850000 to aid promotion of wild atlantic way

Minister of State for Tourism, Michael Ring, said today the provision of an additional €850,000 for Fáilte Ireland, much of which will be invested in developing the web presence of the Wild Atlantic Way and Dublin, will help to promote these great attractions internationally.

The funding is part of the supplementary estimate for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, which was recently announced by Minister Paschal Donohoe.

“The provision of €850,000 to Fáilte Ireland will be used to support IT investments, including promoting the Wild Atlantic Way and Dublin. This will ensure that marketing and social media aspects of promotion can be prioritised so that the message about Ireland’s attractiveness is delivered loud and clear. This will allow us to continue to build on the strong growth we have seen in tourism in 2014.”

The government has already provided €8 million in funding for the Wild Atlantic Way this year to establish discovery points and enhance signage as well as other necessary infrastructure.

Said Minister Ring “The Wild Atlantic Way has been a remarkable success to date and has got fantastic buy-in from the tourist trade and communities on the west coast. The coastal route is proving very popular with Irish and foreign travellers who are keen to explore the rugged beauty of the western Irish landscape.

“In the last week alone, we have seen the Wild Atlantic Way win the ‘Best Tourist Attraction’ at the third InBusiness Editor’s Choice Awards, demonstrating the broad appeal of the initiative.

“With Fáilte Ireland estimating that 60% of businesses in the western regions expressed optimism about what the Wild Atlantic Way can deliver as it is further developed, the potential for job creation in the towns and villages along the route is significant.  Furthermore, as the awareness of the WAW grows internationally, we can expect more visitors to come to Ireland specifically to do the route.”