A model for sustainable tourism destination development that can be implemented by destination managers across the world will be unveiled at a major international conference at the Falls Hotel & Spa in Ennistymon, County Clare, Ireland, on 23 November.
The Burren & Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, which is hosting the ‘GeoparkLIFE: Tourism for Conservation’ conference, has produced a code of practice toolkit and a heritage sites and trails management model under its 5-year GeoparkLIFE conservation programme which concludes this December.
The associated destination manager guides and supporting toolkits include an online code of practice in sustainable tourism for tourism businesses, a monitoring app for trails and heritage site management and an online data management tool for planners, managers and communities. The project coordinators say the tools, developed in conjunction with local businesses, communities and conservation agencies, enable a balance between tourism development and the conservation needs of the North Clare region.
“Our GeoparkLIFE project was designed to explore how best to develop and manage sustainable tourism destinations of international conservation value,” explained Carol Gleeson, Manager of the Burren & Cliffs of Moher GeoparkLIFE programme.
She continued, “Our premise in the Burren & Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark is that conservation and tourism depend on each other and support each other, and it’s clear that the balance can only be achieved through a partnership between conservation, economic and social interests – and in particular, between agencies and local people.”
“The conference is for those working in tourism, rural development and conservation agencies. It is for local authorities, local development companies, destination organisations, tourism businesses, heritage managers, landowners and community groups,” Ms. Gleeson added. “We will be launching our destination manager guides and their supporting toolkits which will be available for other destinations to adapt to their needs.”
The theme of the ‘GeoparkLIFE: Tourism for Conservation’ conference, which coincides with the UN Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, is balancing tourism development with heritage conservation in burgeoning tourism destinations.
The keynote speakers include Prof. Gabriel Cooney (Professor Emeritus, UCD), Carol Gleeson (Manager, GeoparkLIFE), Tina O’Dwyer (Tourism Enterprises Coordinator, GeoparkLIFE) and Zena Hoctor (Sites and Monuments Coordinator, GeoparkLIFE). Travel Journalist and writer, Eoghan Corry will host a stakeholder panel featuring representatives of the agencies, businesses and communities that engaged with Geopark LIFE.
The conference also will feature the launch of the Burren & Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Geopark section of the Heritage Council’s Heritage Map viewer programme, which allows users to find or identify heritage sites and explore heritage data sets anywhere in Ireland.
The conference is the final event of the GeoparkLIFE programme 2013-17. The EU LIFE funded programme is supported by Clare County Council, Failte Ireland, Geological Survey of Ireland, Office of Public Works, Department of the Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, The Heritage Council, NUI Galway and UCD.
