Every county in Ireland will be allocated significant funding by Fáilte Ireland to develop the tourism potential of their destination towns.
The funding has been allocated through the Local Authorities as part of the €15.5million ‘Destination Towns’ initiative launched earlier this year by the National Tourism Development Authority.
Up to €500,000 per local authority will be allocated in two rounds by Fáilte Ireland to boost the attractiveness and tourism appeal of towns nationwide. The process of identifying the towns that receive funding commenced in mid-2019 and was led by the Local Authorities in consultation with Fáilte Ireland.
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin T.D made the national announcement in Tralee - the town put forward by Kerry County Council for investment. Minister Griffin confirmed that every county in Ireland will benefit and the first round of allocations will take place from January.
The full list of ‘Destination Towns’ that will receive funding between the first and second round allocations are:
• Carlow County Council – Carlow Town
• Cavan County Council – Cavan
• Clare County Council - Ennistymon
• Cork City Council – Cork City
• Cork County Council - Bantry
• Donegal County Council – Bundoran
• Dublin City Council - Dublin Docklands
• Dun Laoghaire - Rathdown - Dun Laoghaire
• Fingal County Council - Skerries
• Galway City Council - Galway City
• Galway County Council - Clifden
• Kerry County Council - Tralee
• Kildare County Council - KildareTown
• Kilkenny County Council – Kilkenny
• Laois County Council - Portlaoise
• Leitrim County Council - Carrick-on-Shannon
• Limerick City & County Council - LimerickCity
• Longford County Council - LongfordTown
• Louth County Council - Drogheda
• Mayo County Council - Belmullet
• Meath County Council - Trim
• Monaghan County Council - MonaghanTown
• Offaly County Council - Birr
• Roscommon County Council – Boyle
• South Dublin County Council - Lucan
• Sligo County Council - Enniscrone
• Tipperary County Council - Cashel
• Waterford City & County Council - WaterfordCity
• Westmeath County Council - Athlone
• Wexford County Council - New Ross
• Wicklow County Council – Wicklow Town
The majority of the funding is being awarded now as part of the first round of allocations. The second round of allocations will take place early in Spring 2020 when further developmental work has concluded with the relevant Local Authorities. The counties that fall under this second funding allocation are: Wicklow, Clare, Laois and South Dublin County Council.
The Fáilte Ireland scheme is part of the National Tourism Development Authority’s work to drive a better regional spread of overseas and domestic visitors and spend.
Through the scheme1, which was launched earlier this year, every Local Authority in the country had the opportunity to bid for funding of up to €500,000 to develop a town in the county to enable it to improve its tourism offering and make itself more attractive to visitors. The Local Authorities will also provide funding for their projects.
With Fáilte Ireland research consistently showing that attractive towns and cities are key motivators for overseas holidaymakers coming to Ireland2, the new scheme will provide funding to Councils to enhance public spaces such as squares, streetscapes and markets in a way that will engage tourists and enhance their experience in key towns.
This could include spaces for food and craft markets, areas for town centre events, public art displays as well as orientation and signage to help visitors explore a town’s local heritage.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross T.D., said:
“Tourism’s importance as an economic driver for Ireland cannot be overstated. It sustains 260,000 jobs across the country and generates revenue in communities nationwide. Initiatives like Destination Towns, funded through the Government’s Project Ireland 2040, is a great example of how investing in infrastructure can deliver long-term economic benefits for local communities.”
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin T.D., said:
“The investment awarded to the towns across Ireland today reinforces the Government and Fáilte Ireland’s commitment to growing the tourism sector and the benefits it brings to regions throughout Ireland. I’m delighted to see Fáilte Ireland and the Local Authorities continuing to work hand-in-glove to ensure towns nationwide can fulfil their tourism potential.”
Fáilte Ireland’s CEO Paul Kelly said:
“The towns which reap the greatest benefits from tourism and schemes like Destination Towns are those where all local tourism players work together - from Local Authorities and businesses to the communities themselves, each complementing another’s efforts to create a full and appealing offering for their area. A core focus of Fáilte Ireland’s work is to drive a greater regional spread of visitors and revenue across the country. Initiatives like our Destination Towns scheme are critical in doing this by boosting the tourism appeal of destinations across Ireland. We’re delighted with the support from the Local Authorities and we would like to thank them for their work in putting forward such compelling cases for investment.”
Fáilte Ireland’s Destination Towns scheme is funded under the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 strategy with the aim of driving sustainable growth in the Irish tourism sector and higher revenue and job creation around Ireland.
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