Could north Mayo be the best cultural destination in Ireland?
THE eighth European Destinations of Excellence Network (EDEN) competition has launched, and the 2017 theme is 'Tangible Cultural Tourism'.
This EU network draws attention to the value, diversity and shared characteristics of European tourist destinations, promoting destinations where economic growth is balanced with the social, cultural and environmental sustainability of tourism.
EDEN destinations are small, emerging or off the beaten track, offer authentic tourism experiences, a well-developed cultural offering, characteristic of their region and low to very low number of overseas visitors relative to the national average.
Given the above criteria and its strong natural and cultural heritage, the Céide coast from Belderrig to Ballina in north Mayo is a perfect fit for this award, according to the Mayo North Promotions Office.
The region's cultural tourism product ranges from archaeological artefacts and outdoor activities to visitor experiences, arts, GAA, food and much more.
The manager of the Mayo North Promotions Office, Anne-Marie Flynn, said: “Our challenge now is to show that the Céide coast is the Irish destination that works best together to use its local cultural assets as potential to grow visitor numbers, and in order to do so we need your help.”
Judges are looking for collaborative cross-community effort in promoting the area and its cultural heritage, supported by local authorities and state agencies such as Fáilte Ireland. Winning destinations will have a range of quality, authentic visitor experiences, a story well told and clear evidence of a community and tourism industry that networks, shares information effectively with visitors to the region and believes passionately in their locality and its tourism potential.
The successes of previous winning destinations, including Mulranny and the Great Western Greenway and Loop Head Peninsula, show that winning an award of this nature yields great benefits to emerging tourism destinations.
A working group is coming together to develop the application in collaboration with Mayo North. Added Ms. Flynn: “The key message the application needs to communicate is that you, your group or business is part of a larger community, collaborative initiative that promotes and protects our natural and cultural heritage.”
She is asking for a letter, a short video or other tangible evidence (“creativity is always welcome!”) to be emailed to info@mayonorth.ie or shared on the Mayo North Facebook page (www.facebook.com/MayoNorth) by Wednesday, July 19. For more information, contact Mayo North on (096) 80090.