Cycling and walking greenways are one of the biggest success
stories in Irish tourism, Fáilte Ireland has said.
The national tourism body has now released figures
showing walking and cycling are activities for tourists who come to Ireland.
And for the Waterford greenway in particular, the
research shows it is the dominant factor drawing visitors to the region.
Fáilte Ireland has held an information workshop for
officials from local authorities around the country to demonstrate the benefits
of greenways on tourism.
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It also sought to advise councils across the country who
they could best utilise existing greenways to attract more visitors.
The councils who attended all applied for funding through
the Government’s €53m Greenways Development Strategy, which falls under Project
Ireland 2040.
Some of the findings presented at the workshop included:
- Over 280,000 tourists have visited the Waterford greenway
- 68 per cent of those visitors said it was the main motivation for their visit to Waterford.
- The number of tourists coming to Ireland on walking and cycling holidays has grown exponentially; from 37,000 in 2012 to 1.8m in 2017.
- Last year 46 per cent of all overseas holidaymakers to Ireland engaged in walking and cycling as part of their holiday experience.
According to Fáilte Ireland: “Greenways are one of the
biggest success stories of Irish tourism that have brought transformative
benefits to local communities.”
Fáilte Ireland’s head of activities, Fiona Monaghan,
said: “By supporting and working with the local councils who have applied for
Government funding, we can ensure that the full tourism potential of greenways
is realised and that communities across the country reap the economic benefits
they will bring.”
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