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KERRY County Council will host a major national tourism conference in Listowel next week with a focus on growing and enhancing the Wild Atlantic Way.
The event at the Listowel Arms Hotel on September 5/6 will hear from a wide range of tourism experts and aims to strengthen the links and networks which have been created to maximise the benefits of the internationally-renowned tourism route.
The conference, with the theme of ‘Working as One on the Wild Atlantic Way – Building Sustainable Communities’, will be opened by the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD and the keynote address on Tuesday evening will be delivered by musician and broadcaster, Philip King.
Contributors will include the Head of the Wild Atlantic Way with Fáilte Ireland, Fiona Monaghan, Professor Brian Epsey of Trinity College Dublin, the CEO of the Shannon Group, Matthew Thomas and several senior figures from local authorities around the country. The conference will look at the role of local government in tourism and partnerships with other State agencies and local development companies.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss the future of the Wild Atlantic Way which has already been such a wonderful success,” said Joan McCarthy, Head of Tourism with Kerry County Council.
“It provides a forum for discussion about further enhancing the benefits of the route for the communities nearby and what the challenges will be in sustaining those benefits into the future. Such an approach is a key element of the County Kerry Tourism Strategy and Action Plan which was published in 2016 and has the full support of the elected members of Kerry County Council,” she said.
“Collaboration and cooperation are critical to further developing the Wild Atlantic Way and the tourism product along the west coast of Ireland including Kerry so by bringing together expert contributors we can generate discussion about its further potential in the years ahead,” she added.
A number of panel discussions will be held on the second day of the conference which will conclude with an address by the Chief Executive of Kerry County Council, Moira Murrell. For more information, contact the Tourism Unit at Kerry County Council on 066 7183500.
