‘Huge opportunities’ for tourism in Mayo
Pictured on the Octagon after the Westport Tourism Organisation (WTO) annual general meeting in the Town Hall were, from left: Muriel Barry, WTO secretary; Alice Mansergh, chief executive, Tourism Ireland; Donal O'Shea, WTO chairman; and Christy Madigan, WTO committee member. Picture: Frank Dolan
Tourism and Westport have long been comfortable bed-fellows and a simple mention to anyone of this enchanting visitor hotspot generally gives rise to personal accounts of lovely experiences enjoyed in this must-see West Mayo destination.
But now a tourism chief has thrown down the gauntlet to those operating in the hospitality sector in Westport to think bigger and reach further, beyond the already successful domestic tourism market, to cast their eyes at gaining a cut of a much larger market, worth over €6 billion annually, in the form of overseas tourism.
Alice Mansergh, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, was guest speaker at the well-attended Westport Tourism Organisation annual general meeting, held in the Seán Staunton Room at Westport Town Hall on Monday, May 27 last. Ms Mansergh advised that visitors to Ireland are now looking for lived experiences of the Irish way of life on their travels to Ireland, whether that be following along the path of the Wild Atlantic Way, which in recent times has enjoyed huge promotional success through Hollywood movies such as and the recently released on Netflix. Alternatively, they want to dig in deep and get involved in activities that characterise Irish life, such as collecting turf from the bog and baking Irish soda bread, in order to be able to return home with new insights and a small sense of what it is to be Irish.
“Ireland is all about getting out and about, slow tourism, spending time in local communities, enjoying traditional music. There is progress to be made but also so many stories to be told”, she said.
Opening her presentation, the Tourism Ireland chief said she had just come from Westport House where it was lovely to see all the developments taking place as the Estate and Resort prepared to officially launch its new Westport Adventure Park offering.
On the role of Tourism Ireland, the chief executive said the body was set up in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement to market Ireland, including Northern Ireland, as a tourism product overseas and that it works hand-in-hand with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland, which support development of the domestic tourism product.
“Overseas tourism is worth €6 billion per annum to the economy across the island and supports over 300,000 jobs, 70% of which are outside the cities. Everything you do to develop your destination makes it a job for us to market overseas”, she said.
She further revealed that 67% of the Tourism Ireland target audience is already aware of Ireland and that "year-on-year we see an increase in overseas tourists and expect the same this year, with levels now having returned to above pre-Covid times".
“Hotel occupancy is also above and beyond pre-Covid, although we all know the space of accommodation available to tourism has changed," Ms Mansergh remarked. "Regarding air access, 90% arrive via air and again it has recovered to pre-Covid levels, which makes Ireland unique and this year, it will be 5% ahead of 2023 and will be 14% up on markets like the UK. So we should be really proud of how we are getting people on to the island after the pandemic.”
Noting Westport’s main success as a destination for domestic visitors, the Tourism Ireland chief suggested the popular resort could additionally tap into the overseas market by staging innovative annual and seasonal events, such as around the celebration of Hallowe'en, which she stated is really an "Irish tradition dating back 2,000 years and thus belongs to Ireland". She challenged those in the room to "have a think of how you would bring people from across the world to Westport to celebrate Hallowe'en and get a feel of why Ireland is special at this time of year".
“We think there is huge potential for Hallowe'en. In the US, it is more celebrated but not everybody knows it originated here in Celtic culture and so we need to reclaim it.”
Revealing Tourism Ireland is set to launch an autumn festival under the banner ‘Home for Hallowe'en’, she said: “This is an invitation to everybody here to be part of this.”
Pointing out that hotels in Ireland have 80% occupancy in the summer months but only 70% in October, she added: “There is great pick-up on St Patrick’s Day and the recent St Brigid’s Day promotions. There was a 230 million reach over St Patrick’s Week when we invited everyone around the world to feel a little bit Irish - one of our surveys also showed that up to four times more people were researching Ireland during these weeks.”
Ms Mansergh also highlighted how ‘sustainable tourism’ is now an important selling point, with a recent survey revealing 50% would pay more for such offerings. She then announced that Tourism Ireland will be launching an All-Ireland assurance scheme this year, awarding badges to tourism businesses "that have made great strides in sustainable tourism".
"It will be a badge of honour showing you are focusing on our green potential, that we can then promote through our events and marketing”, she said.
As it happens, new thinking on selling the Westport product was also highlighted by the Westport Tourism Organisation, as chairman Donal O’Shea revealed it has started to market attractions beyond Westport for tourists to feed into, thus improving the lived experience offering for visitors throughout Mayo that simultaneously promotes the entire region.
“This is following on from a Fáilte Ireland conference last year that gave us the idea to expand outside of Westport to show people who come to Westport what is also there for them to see and do, which benefits everybody in return," he said.
One local councillor who in recent times has been calling for a new ‘Wow Factor’ in the town is Christy Hyland. He claims that Westport is "tired looking" and he reiterated the point at the tourism AGM.
“We are certainly an award-wining town and have won many awards over the years but we are not progressing more and more as we should," he remarked.
While staying in the comfort zone is never recommended for those seeking growth, happily, Cllr Peter Flynn was able to point out numerous good news tourism developments for the area in recent times, and was also able to share some just-announced great news, as he reported that following a workshop that morning on the Westport Local Area Plan (LAP), it had been agreed that the long-mooted marina development project at The Quay, would now be officially included in the plan - and would, therefore, as Marine Working Group member Alex Blackwell pointed out, "finally, proceed".
Ms Mansergh noted that the Wild Atlantic Way is now "an award-winning destination on our hands, that has won so many awards including from and the She said that Tourism Ireland also works in conjunction with Screen Ireland on the many new films being produced along its route, and showed a clip of presenter Julia Bradbury on Channel 4, as she told viewers of her ‘Irish Journey’ series that: “Ireland has captured the imagination of the world. I defy anyone to come here and not just to smile, the magic never stops in this enchanting country.”
Ms Mansergh added: “We tend to film behind the scenes and gain publicity from that and then market what the locations in those films were and why you should visit them. We have already co-produced 22 long-form films showing what the route offers and we also bring international journalists here, which all adds up. Over the last 10 years, this publicity as advertising would have cost one billion euros, so you can see the power of earned media simply through marketing the Western Way route and stories around it.”
Noting that 2024 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Wild Atlantic Way, she added that Tourism Ireland has a "whole series of promotional videos made to mark the milestone", showing a clip of one with the catch-line: ‘Fill your heart with Ireland' and 'Discover more at Ireland.com'.
In order to lock in growth, Ms Mansergh also said that partnerships, which mark much of the success of Westport’s tourism industry, was the way to go, adding: “A key piece will be having air and sea access partners market routes focusing on regional airports to bring people straight into the Wild Atlantic Way; 38% arriving at Shannon are already heading straight there and we love to market where the route is viable, stimulate demand and bring people straight in. There is nothing like local tour guides working together with local businesses with a saleable attraction. We put these in touch with an international clientele and to date we have facilitated about 25,000 of such commercial meetings.”
Reaching out to local tourism businesses, the Tourism Ireland chief executive pointed out that "to increase the value of overseas of tourism is our goal", adding: “We want to do this by inspiring visitors to come here and by strengthening our partnerships with tourism operators. We are inspiring visitors with advertising and publicity campaigns, not just to be aware of Ireland but to consider coming and booking their trip. We have activities running across 14 markets creating over a billion marketing opportunities a year. We want people to take ‘visiting Ireland’ from their ‘bucket list destinations’ and bring them right through ‘to discovering our hidden gems’.
Offering suggestions as to how those operating in the tourism sector in Westport and Mayo could get involved in the drive to attract the overseas market, the tourism chief advised: “Share your stories and content on our social channels; join webinars and e-zines for insights and get involved as local businesses at overseas sales events. Also, when people have visited, the journey is not over. We want them to follow us online and become advocates for Ireland; we talk to 20,000 people daily and that amplifies once they spread the message out on their own social media platforms."
Noting that individual stories and content can be uploaded to the websites, she added: “You are all now invited to be part of that.”
The presentation was warmly welcomed as "very enlightening and inspiring" by WTO chairman Donal O’Shea while WTO secretary Muriel Barry concluded: “This was a very positive talk that gave attendees a belief that tourism in Ireland and Mayo has a great future - and the best is yet to come!”
For further information, see www.touirismireland.com/opportunities and www.westporttourism.com.
