A Fáilte Ireland programme, launched earlier this year, has crowned 350 Wild Atlantic Way Champions with the goal of encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend more while on the western coastal route.
The new champions are local business owners, managers and staff from Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Clare, Galway, Cork and Kerry.
After completing the training and workshops, the champions received an official certificate and specially commissioned badge in recognition for their participation in the programme. Fáilte Ireland hopes that this latest initiative will empower local business operators and result in overseas visitors recommending the Wild Atlantic Way globally.
Explaining the importance of the Wild Atlantic Way Champions, Fáilte Ireland’s Fiona Monaghan, Head of the Wild Atlantic Way, emphasised: “The Wild Atlantic Way Champions initiative seeks to harness the commitment and passion of local tourism operators and assist them to deliver the best possible visitor experience. Through a mixture of a warm welcome, a smile, real knowledge of their local area and a genuine interest in what visitors want, we believe our Champions can really help us maximize the potential of the route locally.”
Fáilte Ireland has plans to launch more workshops and create further champions later in the year.
