DONEGAL TOURISM LTD NEWSLETTER

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ISSUE 2 : DEC 2014

Donegal Tourism Limited has continued with its work of promoting and marketing this region’s tourism product during 2014. This year has seen Donegal Tourism implement a marketing and promotion campaign on behalf of the county. It has also worked to ensure a coordinated approach by a range of agencies and sectoral interests in the work of promoting the county. 2014 has been a good year for tourism in Donegal with the industry reporting significant increase in business and Fáilte Ireland reporting increases in domestic and foreign visitors to Donegal. 2015 will see Donegal Tourism again leading out on a marketing campaign for the county. Details of the 2014 marketing campaign are included in this newsletter.

During 2014 the new ‘Go Visit Donegal’ website was consolidated as were other websites that are used to promote the county e.g. the Donegal Gathering, the Malin Waters and the Donegal Diaspora website. 2015 will see further work carried out on these and will also see the launch of the new Donegal Tourism brochure.

The Wild Atlantic Way has been a very positive development for County Donegal and it is a resource that we will work to develop and promote during 2015 and beyond. Donegal County Council and Fáilte Ireland have during 2014 carried out substantial work in signposting this route. Substantial physical works have also been carried out e.g. road and environmental improvements along the route and at Discovery Points along the route. Some €750,000 has been invested in this work to date.

Substantial work has also been carried out at the three WAW signature points that are situated in this county – Sliabh Liag, Malin Head and Fanad Head Lighthouse. A substantial programme of work was also completed at Inch Levels this year. Work carried out and commenced to date on these projects involve a combined investment of €7.5 million. The development of key infrastructure is and will continue to be of importance in ensuring that this county achieves its full potential as a tourism destination. Other key infrastructure projects in the county include the development of a new marina at Killybegs, the Safe Haven at Bunagee and the mooring facilities at Greencastle.

Donegal Tourism looks forward to working with all stakeholders to further develop and promote Donegal Tourism’s product at home and abroad during 2015.

CURRENT FLAGSHIP CAPITAL PROJECTS

DONEGAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN2

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CONNECTING THE WILD ATLANTIC WAY

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

HARNESSING THE POWER OF THE WEB TO PROMOTE DONEGAL

DONEGAL DIASPORA - BUILDING CONNECTIONS

Sliabh Liag

Donegal County Council is working in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, SEUPB and the local community to develop Sliabh Liag and its hinterland as a world-class tourism attraction. The project covers variety of development activities including: Road Improvement Works, Lower Car Park & Ranger’s Station, reconstruction and remediation works on the Mountain Trail between Bunglas and the Pilgrim’s Path, Transport Hub and Visitors Centre, Interpretative Project, Viewing Area, Transport System.

Sliabh Liag (Slieve League)

Malin Head

Malin Head, Ireland’s Most Northerly Point, is widely accepted as one of County Donegal’s most important tourism resources and has been identified in several reports (MORI Ireland, 2006) as one of the main reasons for tourists visiting the Inishowen Peninsula. It is also agreed that while the Malin Head area boasts spectacular scenery, is rich in heritage, is of high geological and environmental importance it still remains highly underdeveloped as tourist attraction.

It is the intention of Donegal County Council to develop Malin Head as a first class visitor attraction that helps service the needs of the local community and businesses as well as visitors to the county. It is proposed to fully develop Malin Head as a flagship tourism location and as a key destination point on the Wild Atlantic Way. With it becoming either your point of departure or your completion of the route. The current phase is now nearing completion and works have included:-

- Roads (widening and passing bays to allow ease of access).- Pathways (800m of walkways along the scenic Malin Head point between Banbas Crown and

Hells Hole). - Disabled viewing platform with multi-lingual tourism telescopes. - Interpretative Signage Panels for the Walks. - Picnic benches and seating.

Aerial view of Malin Head

Seamus Neely, Chief Executive Donegal County Council

ISSUE 2 : DEC 2014

Fanad Head Lighthouse

Donegal County Council are working in partnership with the Fanad Lighthouse Committee, Irish Lights and Fáilte Ireland to develop the facility as a key stop on the Wild Atlantic Way. Animation and capacity building initiatives have been held towards the development of a limited company to manage the project.

Inch Levels

The Inch & Foyle Wildfowl Project aims to deliver two world-class visitor and outdoor recreation attractions at Inch Wildfowl Reserve at Inch Levels in Co Donegal and at the East Coast of Lough Foyle near Limavady. The project is funded by the European Union through the INTERREG IVA Programme.

Activity for 2014 year to date shows a consistent increase in visitors with the average of 7,000 visitors per month. The increase in visitors correlates with the completion of the new car park , the looped walkway and the erection of interpretative panels. Further information on the walks can be found on the specific website www.inchandfoyle.com

Newly constructed pathway at Inch

Visitors at Project Open Day Sunday 27th July

Interpretative Panels at Fanad

Fanad Lighthouse

Inch Level - Cross Border Education ProgrammeThe Inch and Foyle Wildfowl project is involved in a cross border education programme and has held a number of events throughout the year commencing at Easter and carrying through to late Autumn. Two schools from Donegal and two from the Limavady area will participate in the first phase of the schools programme. Children will participate in a programme of monitoring the flight paths of their selected bird (Greylag Goose) and report back at an end of project event. If successful this activity will continue to involve more schools. Letterkenny Institute of Technology and University of Ulster will also be briefed about the project to encourage participation of students from a research point of view.

Phase 2 plans have focused on a combination of a visitor centre with interpretative information and some on site accommodation. The planning aspect of this is being led out by Irish Lights.

Fanad Head Lighthouse - Interpretative Panels Two interpretative panels have been designed and installed at Fanad. The first sign is located on the Fanad side of the Harry Blaney Bridge and the other is located at Fanad lighthouse car park. From conversations with the community Group in Fanad, the feedback from tourists in Fanad is really positive.

Reaching Target AudiencesReaching our target audiences to promote Donegal is of the utmost importance to Donegal Tourism Ltd. Here are just some of the ways that we reach them.

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UTV Advert

Billboards showcasing Donegal at Commonwealth Games, Glasgow 2014

In 2014 Donegal Tourism Ltd continued their work to reach a wider target audience and increase Donegal brand awareness through a number of high profile advertising campaigns including extensive radio coverage, a UTV ad, featuring on the TV3 Events Guide. This marketing campaign was funded by Rural Development Programme (Leader) 2007-2013; administered by Inishowen Development Partnership and Donegal Local Development Company.

Billboards showcasing Donegal were displayed at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow where over 1m visitors passed through the city during the event.

DONEGAL TOURISM MARKETING CAMPAIGN

The advertising campaigns contributed hugely to the success in attracting traffic to the website. The website is going from strength to strength, with Google Analytics showing a significant increase on visitor numbers to the website this year compared with 2013. www.govisitdonegal.com· The number of domestic and international users engaging with the website has increased for all Top Ten Countries from which the sessions originated, with the numbers doubled for the main target market – United Kingdom

· Total number of pages viewed is up 85.55% from 109,039 in 2013 to 202,324 in 2014;

· A huge increase of 181.11% has been recorded in the numbers of first-time users during the corresponding periods from 16,033 in 2013 to 45,071 in 2014;

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∙ Throughout July, advertisements promoting and driving traffic to Go Visit Donegal website were placed on Dublin Buses as well as 2 major routes.

This took a three pronged approach and the following buses were wrapped:The back of 50 Dublin Buses for 2 weeksThe mega back of a coach from Dublin via the airport to Cork, return for 1 monthThe mega back of a coach from Dublin via the airport to Donegal, return for 1 month ∙ New Pop-Up Banners promoting Donegal have been produced.

∙ Go Visit Donegal online banner is currently live on Donegal Airport website: www.donegalairport.ie

∙ The new Donegal Brochure and App will shortly be launched. They are packed with information on what Donegal has to offer and contain imagery that perfectly frames the beauty of Donegal.

∙ Direct link to Go Visit Donegal tourism website available from the new Donegal.ie portal.

www.malinwaters.com is also proving to be a very successful website in promoting marine tourism in Donegal with a growth in traffic of over 50% in the first quarter of 2014.

• Over 70% of visitors to MalinWaters.com were first time viewers of the website.

• Traffic to MalinWaters.com increased by over 41% in the first half of 2014. • Over 34% of traffic to MalinWaters.com came from mobile devices.• 67.19% of traffic was acquired through organic search, via Google and other

search engines.• The majority of visitors to the MalinWaters.com website are from the UK

and Ireland and research sailing and other marine leisure activities in the MalinWaters regions.

A new website and Facebook page have been developed for Killybegs Information Centre by Donegal Tourism to showcase the best of local accommodation, pubs, restaurants, attractions and much more in and around the Killybegs area.www.killybegs.ie • Launched in June 2014, the new Killybegs website has attracted a large volume

of visitors, primarily via Google with over 8000 visits in the first few weeks of going live.

• The website also has excellent social sharing capacity and their Facebook following continues to grow.

• The largest of the target tourism markets visiting Killybegs come from the UK, US, France and Germany.

• Killybegs.ie was developed with a mobile responsive design and over 45% of visitors reach the website via devices such as mobile phones and tablets, future proofing the website for the continued growth of mobile technology.

Tourism in Donegal is promoted through a variety of online channels including websites and social media networks.

Bus Advertisement on Dublin and Bus Éireann busses.

Go Visit Donegal online banner Donegal.ie

Harnessing the Power of theWeb to Promote Donegal

The Donegal Gathering website continues to attract domestic and international traffic, with over 65,000 visits across 112 countries in 2014 and a total of over 210,000 visits since 2012. This website is regularly updated with fresh content and lists a comprehensive calendar of Donegal events.www.donegalgathering.com

Donegal Gathering

Go VisitDonegal

MalinWaters

Killybegs

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‘Connecting the Wild Atlantic Way’ Digital Conference hailed as a Great Success for Tourism in Donegal

Large numbers of tourism businesses from all over County Donegal recently attended Donegal County Council’s ‘Connecting the Wild Atlantic Way’ Digital Marketing Conference. The conference took place on 25th September in Solis Lough Eske Castle and was a resounding success for the tourism sector in Donegal.Organisers of the conference, Donegal County Council in association with Failte Ireland and Donegal Tourism Ltd were delighted with the good turn out at the event and the positive feedback they received afterwards from attendees. The goal of the conference was to provide useful advice on promoting the Wild Atlantic Way using the latest Digital Marketing techniques. On speaking with attendees after the conference it was very clear that this goal was achieved and those that were there left feeling inspired, motivated and ready to take on the world of online marketing for the benefit of their business.The conference ignited ambition amongst tourism providers who went home feeling motivated to introduce changes to their traditional marketing plans incorporating both digital techniques and the Wild Atlantic Way. The message of the day was that Digital Marketing delivers real results and if tourism providers embrace new technology then a bright future for tourism exists in County Donegal. Digital has the power to bring visitors from all over the world to the very top of the Wild Atlantic Way at Malin Head and to travel throughout Donegal, creating lasting memories of our county on the Wild Atlantic Way that will reach international audiences online for years to come.

The Sail West EU INTERREG IVA project led by Donegal County Council was launched in 2010 continues to develop with the MalinWaters brand reaching markets across Europe and beyond. MalinWaters has a new digital focus with website optimisation, social and e-mail marketing, display and PPC all playing an important role in raising awareness of the brand. MalinWaters supported a number of strategic events this year including Sea Sessions where the brand was promoted extensively during the event. The MalinWaters brand promotes marine tourism in partner regions of North West Ireland, Western Scotland and Northern Ireland. This is a strong partnership collaboration and there are very positive plans for the future of the project.

MalinWaters were delighted to support Ireland’s largest white water kayaking event Crana Fest 2014 in Buncrana, County Donegal from 18th-19th October 2014. The event generated over 1,000 bed nights in the region with a total of over €300,000 in terms of economic value to Buncrana and surrounds.

Conference Speakers L-R: Seamus Neely-Chief Executive, DCC; Fiona Monaghan, Fáilte Ireland; Alan Coleman, Wolfgang Digital; Charlie Boyle, Customer Service Excellence Ireland; Nicholas Crossan, Deputy Mayor, DCC; Andrew Weld-Moore, Facebook; Jill Robb, Ambition Digital.

Continued Success for Sail West Project

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The Donegal Diaspora project continues to reap rewards for Donegal as a resource for the economic, social and cultural development of the county. The project allows for connections between Donegal and its Diaspora world wide to develop skills and networks and to share resources and experience. Funding from Donegal County Council, Failte Ireland and IPB Insurance have allowed for the achievements in tourism following The Gathering 2013 to foster the many links with the Diaspora, which is founded on the basis that relationships exist between ‘people and places’.

On Friday, 12th September 2014 the third Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Award Ceremony was held in Buncrana, Co Donegal. Tip O’Neill’s lifetime achievements were acknowledged close to his grandparent’s place of birth. The ceremony was attended by President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, guests from Ireland and friends and associates of award recipient President Murray as well as members of the O’Neill family from the United States.The award was presented by President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins to the deserving Massachusetts State Senate, President Senator Therese Murray.Senator Murray has proven herself to be a worthy recipient by carving out a very successful career in the predominantly male world of, not just American politics, but politics in general. She has been a champion of welfare causes, mental health, children’s welfare and health, and the elderly. She has been the driving force behind many very worthy state reforms in Massachusetts and has always maintained her close links with the country of her heritage.The selection of President Murray was welcomed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who acknowledged her leadership role in Massachusetts and her ongoing interest in and support for economic development in Ireland.

This funding initiative is a three-way partnership between Fáilte Ireland, IPB Insurance and Donegal County Council and has been established as a follow on from the success of the Gathering in mobilising local communities to harness diaspora links for the benefit of local tourism. The objectives of the initiative are to:

- Provide support in the form of small-scale funding incentives for community-based tourism events that have the capacity to carry through the legacy of The Gathering in 2014 and beyond;

- Create a national network of local events with the capacity to deepen diaspora linkages and networks that have been developed or re-activated during The Gathering year;

- To foster the growth of strong county diaspora networks on the basis that diaspora relationships are rooted in ‘people and place’.

36 festivals and events received funding from the Scheme during 2014.

Building Connections with the Donegal Diaspora

Community TourismDiaspora Project

TIP O’NEILL IRISH DIASPORA AWARD CEREMONY

Tip O’Neill Irish Diaspora Award Recipient President Senator Therese Murray with (L-R) Seamus Neely, Chief Executive Donegal County Council; President of Ireland – Michael D. Higgins and Cllr. John Campbell, The Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council.

The Council support an extensive list of festivals and events throughout the County including Earagail Arts Festival and Donegal Bay & Blue Stacks Festival, Bealtaine Festival, Heritage Week in County Donegal. The Gathering was an initiative started by Donegal County Council before the national Gathering event was launched. Donegal County Council continues to maintain Donegal Gathering website, which is still utilised by the vast majority of community groups and organisations as a calendar of events.This website is linked to Govisitdonegal.com and also to the new Donegal Portal– Donegal.ie.

An Cathaoirleach, Councillor John Campbell launched the booklet Malin Head: An Enchanting Place, A Colourful Past on Friday 19th September 2014 in Malin Head Community Centre. The launch celebrated the publication by Donegal County

Archives, Donegal County Council, of an illustrated booklet which tells the story of Malin Head’s unique history and heritage over the centuries. The booklet was written by Ms Irene Haggan of Ramelton for the Donegal County Archives Service.Speakers took the opportunity to emphasise the

importance of Malin Head, its significance for our culture and history, as well as the importance of Malin Head in terms of its heritage and tourism potential in promoting Malin Head and Inishowen as a destination point for the Wild Atlantic Way.

For a copy of the booklet and more information and photographs of the launch please contactNiamh Brennan, Archivist, Archives Service, Donegal County Council,Three Rivers Centre, Lifford, Co. Donegal E-Mail: archivist@donegalcoco.ie or download from: http://www.donegalcoco.ie/archives

DONEGAL TOURISM - FURTHER INFORMATION

Seamus Neely Chairman

Michael O h’EanaighCompany Secretary

Correspondence to:Barney Mc LaughlinDonegal Tourism Ltd.c/o Donegal Public Services CentreDrumlonagher, Donegal Town, Co. DonegalE: barney.mclaughlin@donegalcoco.ieT: +353 (0)74 972 4465

Administration and Payments:Caroline BrittonE: cbritton@donegalcoco.ie T: +353 (0)74 972 4441

FESTIVALS AND EVENTS

A joint initiative of Derry City Council, Limavady Borough Council and Donegal County Council brought the world-famous Red Arrows to Inishowen in June 2014. The red jets were celebrating their 50th display season this year. The event attracted large numbers of visitors, making it one of the most important events in Inishowen in 2014.

The Red Arrows Display

LAUNCH OF THE MALIN HEAD BOOKLET

The official launch of the booklet Malin Head: An Enchanting Place, A Colourful Past

Cathaoirleach, Councillor John Campbell with a group of Local representatives in Malin head during the booklet launch