Fáilte Ireland joined forces with historic houses, gardens and attractions across Ireland’s Ancient East last week to develop tourism plans across the region.
The attractions joined a Failte Ireland workshop in the Talbot Hotel in Carlow, which focused on developing visitor experiences around the 'Tale of Two Worlds' theme, which brings to life the layers of history in big houses, gardens and attractions in Ireland’s Ancient East.
The workshop brought together 60 key partners from Carlow, Kildare, Laois, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow to help position Ireland’s Ancient East as the most enjoyable, engaging and accessible cultural experience in Europe.
Over the past year, Fáilte Ireland has worked with key partners across Ireland’s Ancient East to develop the 'Tale of Two Worlds' theme, including the completion of a study on the potential to attract more overseas visitors to the region’s gardens, the development of visitor experiences in historic houses, the creation of 10 new high value food and drink experiences, as well as a range of training and supports for attractions and businesses in the area.
The Fáilte Ireland team also unveiled some of the plans it has to develop visitor experiences over the coming year, including new garden festivals and boosting the storytelling and tours at some of the region’s historic houses.
Derek Dolan, Fáilte Ireland’s Business Development Officer in Ireland’s Ancient East, said, “It was encouraging to see such an energetic session with our 'Tale of Two Worlds' industry partners and stakeholders. The work that has been completed across gardens and historic houses in Ireland’s Ancient East is a testament to our shared commitments and we are already seeing an impact through increased visitor numbers and revenues in our visitor attractions. We will continue to work side by side with the industry to improve visitor experiences across the region with the aim of reaching our target of 3.5% revenue growth each year.”
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
