Developing Tourism in Offaly

Developing Tourism in

Offaly

Tourism

Jobs & Revenue* Tourism delivered

€10bn

in expenditure between the overseas and domestic markets

Tourism generates

It is estimated that tourism industries accounted for

227,000

€2.9bn in exchequer revenue – the equivalent of

€1,600 per household

jobs nationwide

*Based on 2023 CSO figures.

Ballycowan Castle, Grand Canal Greenway

Domestic Marketing At Fáilte Ireland, our marketing aims to inspire domestic tourism by encouraging short breaks in Ireland, with a goal to boost year-round tourism revenue spread across the country. Our Keep Discovering domestic campaign is the cornerstone of our consumer marketing strategy, promoting regions to visitors from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland through various high reach channels including TV, video-on-demand, digital, media partnerships and an extensive PR and Influencer plan.

Additionally, our sponsorship of RTÉ Weather reaches 1.6 million people on average 8 times per week, providing a great platform to deliver timely, relevant and compelling messages to encourage viewers to Keep Discovering Ireland all year round.

Driving Climate Action for

Tourism Businesses Tackling climate change is one of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing tourism businesses today. Fáilte Ireland’s Climate Action Programme is delivered by Fáilte Ireland and a team of sustainability advisors who will mentor and guide businesses over a three-year period providing hands-on support and investment advice for tourism businesses aiming to become more sustainable and will help drive real change in businesses.

In line with government targets, the Programme will focus on reducing carbon emissions and saving money, along with broader areas like energy and waste management, water consumption, renewables, and biodiversity. More information on the Climate Action Programme can be found at https://supports.failteireland.ie/climate-action/

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Fáilte Ireland’s ambition is to support all tourism businesses improve their inclusive offerings and ensure that destinations, products, and services are accessible to all. Our 2025 plans focus on raising awareness of accessibility and inclusion, building capacity, and offering more choices for all.

We embrace the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’ to make Ireland a leading accessible and inclusive destination.

Together, we can create welcoming tourism experiences that enhance our communities as great places to visit and live.

For more information please visit: https://www.failteireland.ie/Development-menu-item/ Accessible-and-Inclusive-Tourism.aspx

Building excellent employment Since Fáilte Ireland launched its Employer Excellence Programme in 2022, 30,000 employees and 300 businesses across the tourism sector have benefited from the programme. This three-year programme enhances retention, reward recognition, and communication. Additionally, the programme offers benefits such as top-tier people management training, access to an employee survey provider, expert HR advice, and the opportunity to be acknowledged as an Excellent Employer at our annual awards.

To support businesses to upskill new and existing employees, Fáilte Ireland launched learniFI, an online learning platform to drive professional development with over 250 tailored courses and dynamic live learning sessions across key business disciplines including HR, Finance and Climate Action. To help build the future pipeline of talent, the Fáilte Ireland Work Experience Programme connects Transition Year students with local tourism businesses, providing work experience and helping build a future talent pipeline. For more information, visit www.failteireland.ie/tourismcareers

Development in

Offaly

Regional Tourism Strategy for Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands Offaly is included in Fáilte Ireland’s Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands Regional Tourism Development Strategy 2023 – 2027. This roadmap for the tourism industry and all stakeholders involved in tourism in the region will help navigate the current challenges and steer a course towards a sustainable recovery and continued success.

The plan sets out a strategic approach to unlocking the commercial potential of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. It will ensure focus on tourism development is sustainable and regenerative and that the benefits accrue to local communities and to nature. By capitalising on the uniqueness of each brand they set a clear path ahead for the development of new and enhanced visitor experiences, building greater capacity and capability into the industry, and provide a clear strategy for attracting visitors that will stay longer and spend more.

Destination and Experience Development Plans Destination and Experience Development Plans (DEDP) are 5-year sustainable tourism development plans for a destination, which bring public and private sector organisations together to prioritise tourism development projects and maximise their chance for success.

Offaly is being developed under the MidShannon and Midlands DEDP, which is due to commence in early 2025.

Investment in

Offaly

EU Just Transition Fund As Ireland moves towards a low-carbon economy, Fáilte Ireland is delivering a Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme for Ireland’s Midlands* 2023-2026 as part of the EU Just Transition Fund programme, which is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.

Through this scheme, we are investing in the sustainable development of tourism in the Midlands with the aim of diversifying the regional economy by creating jobs, supporting habitats and biodiversity and sustaining communities. The Regenerative Tourism & Placemaking Scheme for Ireland’s Midlands 2023-2026 is currently being delivered through a series of funding calls.

Further information is available: https://www.failteireland.ie/JustTransition

€68m EU Just Transition Fund

*Laois, Westmeath, Offaly, Longford, Roscommon and parts of Galway (Ballinasloe), Tipperary (Carrick-on-Suir, Thurles) and Kildare (Athy, Clane – Maynooth). Note: Fáilte Ireland has no responsibility in territorial selection or designation.

Festivals and Events Festivals and events are a vital component of the visitor experience for local, domestic and international audience. Fáilte Ireland has identified tourism focused festivals and events as a key driver for tourism growth, particularly in the off-season. Festivals and participative events serve to increase both awareness of and dwell time in the destination, while also adding variety and diversity to the area. Investment in and business development support for festivals is helping to drive growth in the regions and draw both domestic and overseas visitors to different parts of the country in the off-peak season.

Fáilte Ireland provides funding for local and community festivals through its ‘Regional Festivals Programme’, which has been managed by Local Authorities since 2018. In addition to this Fáilte Ireland’s own Strategic Festivals Fund supports over 40 Festivals and Participative Events with a tourism focus.

Fáilte Ireland’s Champions Programme Fáilte Ireland’s Champions Programme is designed to help tourism businesses enhance their team’s customer service skills and build local product knowledge. The programme is tailored to each of our regional experience brands (Ireland’s Ancient East, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, Wild Atlantic Way and Dublin) combining our successful Local Experts and Service Excellence programmes, with specialised training in accessible tourism. Frontline tourism professionals and anyone who engages with visitors, are invited to register for one of our free Champions Programme workshops. For more info on upcoming workshops see https://www.failteireland.ie/Product-development/champions-programme.aspx Figures correct at time of production (December 2024). All project costs and funding subject to change.

Fáilte Ireland Initiatives for

Offaly

Destination Towns - Birr

Fáilte Ireland’s Destination Towns scheme is designed to boost the attractiveness and tourism appeal of towns nationwide, and is funded under the Government’s Project Ireland 2040 Strategy. Fáilte Ireland allocated €412,500 in funding to Offaly County Council to develop Birr under this scheme.

Fáilte Ireland unveiled the roadmap for sustainable development of Cruise-Hire Sector in October 2024.

Read the full Feasibility Study on the Future Development and Greening of the Cruise Hire Sector here http://www. failteireland.ie/FailteIreland/media/WebsiteStructure/ Documents/Ireland’s%20Hidden%20Heartlands/ feasibility-study-on-the-future-development.pdf

Grand Canal Greenway

The Beara Breifne Way

The Grand Canal Greenway, a 70km cycle and walkway connecting West to East Offaly was officially lanched in October 2024. This greenway offers an opportunity for tourism businesses to optimise their tourism potential and improve the visitor experience and commercial performance in the area. In 2025, Fáilte Ireland are working with strategic partners in Waterways Ireland and Offaly Local Authority to support industry and communities to develop these amenities & maximise the potential of this asset within the county.

Shannon Masterplan

The Shannon Tourism Masterplan, led by Waterways Ireland with Fáilte Ireland and 10 Local Authorities, outlines a framework for sustainable tourism from 2020 to 2030. The River Shannon, its lakes and inland waterways are an integral part of the tourism offering in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. The Masterplan assesses the strengths and weaknesses of this key tourism asset in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and brings forward proposals on how to grow a sustainable domestic and international tourism destination in the Shannon Corridor which respects the nature and diversity of the environment and its people One of the key actions of the plan was a Feasibility Study on the Future Development and Greening of the Cruise Hire Sector undertaken to support the sector to transition towards more sustainable practices and enhance the visitor experiences along the Shannon Navigation and Shannon-Erne Waterway up to 2033.

International Mountain Biking Project total project worth c.€13m

Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) Partnership Project with Coillte and other relevant Local Authorities.

This flagship national project will develop five international standard Mountain Biking Centres and 191km of new Mountain Biking looped trails, to drive economic growth across rural Ireland, as well as providing recreational, health and tourism benefits in the following locations.

• Ballyhoura • Ballinastoe (Limerick and Cork) (Wicklow) • Coolaney (Sligo) • Slieve Blooms (Offaly and Laois) • Ticknock (Dublin)

The Digital that Delivers programme is a pioneering initiative designed to transform the digital capabilities of attractions, activity providers, strategically funded festivals, and tourism-focused golf courses. This two-year development programme aims to equip up to 720 businesses with essential digital tools, skills and strategies to improve their online presence. Created in response to research highlighting low adoption of digital technology in these sectors, the programme provides resources to activate and optimise booking systems, develop accessible websites, improve customer engagement, and boost sales.

It supports Fáilte Ireland’s mission to attract more visitors to emerging regions and destinations.

By the end of 2026, the programme will have awarded, up to €18.4 million in investment grant-aid to businesses throughout Ireland. Fáilte Ireland predicts this investment will generate €408 million in additional economic activity over a 10-year period, supporting up to 11,000 sustainable jobs across Ireland.

(2021 – 2026)

Powering Online Excellence

E00157725 Digital that Delivers Team - Table stand (CL).indd 1

The Beara Breifne Way, a 700km trail through counties Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Offaly, Galway, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, and Cavan, is Ireland’s largest communitybased project supported by community groups and volunteers. Since 2001, it has been supported by various stakeholders, including The Heritage Council, Fáilte Ireland, and local authorities. Recognized as a Signature Visitor Experience in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, it also intersects with the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East.

Fáilte Ireland is working with public and private stakeholders to establish a governance structure for the trail, covering local, county, and national levels, aimed at sustainable development and minimal environmental impact. A finalized governance plan is expected by 2025.

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Fáilte Ireland is the National Tourism Development Authority and is funded by the Government of Ireland through the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media