County Clare is hoping to become Ireland’s first ever certified sustainable tourism destination.
The local authority’s bid will aim to see Clare join an elite company of twenty-nine sites across the globe.
The accreditation is awarded by the Global Council of Sustainable Tourism and successful sites may receive either Gold, Silver or Bronze status.
Among the illustrious company that Clare may well soon be joining are destination such as the Azores in Portugal which is a UNESCO Geo Park, Nuuk in Greenland, Tarvision in Italy and Breckenridge and Vail, in Colorado, USA.
The local authority has established a green team to oversee the process of securing the certification and has drafted in specialist expertise to ensure an evidence informed approach.
Doctoral Researcher at the Atlantic Technological University of Sligo, Fiona McKenna has been collecting data on visitor trends and habits in the county.
Sustainability has been at the forefront of key priorities in Clare’s Tourism Strategy for 2030 and the Cliffs Of Moher 2040 programme.
Both initiatives envisage the creation of additional inbound routes at Shannon Airport, while the latter will aim to provide an an economic boost of €36million per annum within seventeen years.
The application will also come hot on the heels of Ennis’s success at the Communities in Bloom competition and the local authorities recent acquisition of the Shannon Heritage sites.
However Manager Manager of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark , Carol Gleeson says sustainability is not a buzzword for Clare and the green team is committed to walking the walk before they can talk the talk.
You can listen to the full interview below.
