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SHEEP’S HEAD PENINSULA in west Cork is difficult to visit and short on public facilities, so it’s hardly a surprise the place isn’t flooded with tourists.
Located on the south side of Bantry Bay, the region was dubbed a ‘destination of excellence’ by the European Commission seven years ago.
On paper, there are a number of factors in its favour. It boasts a rugged landscape, offers spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and is on the desirable Wild Atlantic Way.
But its tourism potential remains largely unrealised because of its location.
One woman who is hoping to change that is Siobhán Burke, marketing coordinator of the Sheep’s Head and Bantry Tourism Cooperative.
Speaking at a recent Fáilte Ireland trade event on sustainable tourism, Burke – who was appointed to the role in 2013 – explained the challenges the area faces as a visitor destination.
“We can only attract people in from two roads at the top of the peninsula, which is only 4km wide,” she said.
The two roads leading onto the peninsula merge as they get closer to the Atlantic, which means tourists have to make a big time commitment if they want to visit Sheep’s Head.
“However many people you bring to Cork from Rosslare (ferry terminal), for example, you’re losing people all along the way,” Burke said.
‘Vulnerable’
A major stumbling block is the fact that the area lacks basic amenities that tourists demand. Few facilities open year-round, there’s a shortage of filling stations and ATMs are virtually non-existent.
Naturally, the region suffers from low visitor numbers and spend. The local trade is highly seasonal and dependent on outdoor activities.
“When you have a tourism model in an area that is almost entirely built for walking and cycling … you’re very vulnerable,” Burke said.
To help make up for its shortcomings, the Sheep’s Head tourism body has leveraged existing community projects and groups to give visitors a more compelling reason to visit the peninsula.
Burke described the initiative as “cooperative development and marketing”.
“I’m not talking about simply doing Facebook posts. This is about going into people’s kitchens and going into community centres on a wet Tuesday event and trying to put products together,” she said.
“It’s about adding up the small bit of capacity people have to create products that can create more impact for the area and extend the tourism season.”
For example, stone carver Victor Daly from the tiny village of Ahakista was encouraged to host courses for visitors in order to supplement his revenue carving headstones and restoring castles.
“We’re just kind of building that stuff and turning people like Victor into craft tour operators,” Burke said.
Festivals have played a big part in turning around Sheep’s Head fortunes, particularly sporting events.
Burke said the local tourism initiative has worked with Helen Collins, chairwoman of the Taste of West Cork festival, to ensure that the region’s most difficult-to-reach locations are included on the food trail.
“Over time, businesses that think they’re not connected or that they’re too off the beaten track think, ‘Why aren’t we involved in that?’”
Islands
The next step in Sheep’s Head’s plan to boost tourism is to develop visitor offerings on the islands surrounding the peninsula.
For example, there will be blackberry jam making sessions hosted on Bere Island as part of next year’s Taste of West Cork .
“Islands face a more extreme version of this problem of struggling to get people to remote places,” Burke said. “I call it Robinson Crusoe syndrome.”
Visitors worry that there won’t be enough for them to do and that they’ll be stranded until the next ferry, she said.
Despite visitors’ reluctance to visit the islands, Burke said they are worth investing in because they increase dwell time and spend in the local area.
“If you bring a tourist to Cape Clear Island, it’s an hour ferry there and an hour back,” she said, “you then increase the amount of time in the area by default. They’re going to have to eat and sleep when they get back.
“You’re giving people a variety of experiences … Islands have an originality dividend. Every product on an island is better than a mainland product.”
Burke said the whole point of the Wild Atlantic Way programme is to encourage people to travel to areas they might not otherwise visit, which is why she thinks Sheep’s Head’s difficulties could be marketed as an asset.
“People want to get away and be away from it all – that’s what makes it brilliant. There are just some practical issues that we have to work with.”
Written by Conor McMahon and posted on Fora.ie
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Forrest Gump must be closing in on Bill Gates at this rate
Not bad for Forest as his Apple letter was dated before Apple actually began selling any shares. Forest truely is special.
He could have been a venture capitalist who invested in the company before it went public. Would have made even more money that way.
My income tax would be lower if Apple actually paid their full 12 1/2℅ tax. Well, unless our gangsters in the Dail give it to our Rothschild/private bond holders.
The best thing about the new iphone coming up is it’ll kill off the Garth Brooks stories
What’s this about Garth Brooks?
Unless he gets one, then there could be the perfect storm. The Journal ‘towers’ would explode in orgy of ctrl-c ctrl-v, it would be like something from an Hieronymus Bosch painting
My revenue would not be near as good as Apples but it would be liveable if I didn’t pay taxes
Silly story! If you compared the profits of most successful companies towards their total staff and apply the figures through a per capita rating, you’d get similar results. All the same, maybe the might loan us a few bob…
Hush, John. It’s the start of Apple season on the Journal, expect blanket coverage, and incendiary articles, until the launch of the iPhone 6 in September.
Quarterly profit of 7.7 billion but it’s 600 million less than expected. Wouldn’t you just hate to be Apple right now.
Apples profits are based on semi slave labour – and not something to boast about .
Many are made in Chian at Foxconn factories
”On June 14th, a Foxconn worker jumped to his death from his apartment building in Chengdu, marking the 18th reported worker suicide at Foxconn factories in China in just over two years[1]. Many additional suicides may have gone unreported[2][3]. But these deaths and the focus on conditions at Foxconn reflect only a portion of the troubling conditions at Apple suppliers.
This investigation of other Apple suppliers in China reveals that serious work-related injuries and worker suicides are by no means isolated to just Foxconn but exist throughout Apple’s supply chain. For example, we found that at least two workers committed suicide at Flextronics[4]’ factories last year[5][6] (Ganzhou and Zhuhai) and that upwards of 59 workers were injured in explosions at Riteng’s Shanghai factory last December[7] (both are Apple’s suppliers). More broadly, this investigation of ten different Apple factories in China finds that harmful, damaging work environments characterized by illegally long hours for low levels of pay are widespread in Apple’s supply, with working conditions frequently worse at suppliers other than Foxconn. We also document for the first time the tremendous problems caused by the use of ‘labour dispatching’ by Apple suppliers in China…
This is Bangladesh all over again – low wages – long hours – and the author of this report has nerve to compare the profits with Bangladesh where their have been tragedies and many deaths as well – and again western suppliers take no responsibility – despite their claims – for the hours and wages that workers have to put up with
- Oh and this is the direction in which we are headed – the race to the bottom – Yes – great news .
We should be boycotting these products .
Lot of talk about boycotting Israeli products – seems an easy target – but the things we use ourselves ??
Number of suicides in Foxconn factories (according to your story above, not attributed anywhere): 18 in two years out of a total workforce of over 1 million. That gives a rate of 0.9 suicides per 100,000 per year.
Current suicide rate in China: 9.8 per 100,000
(Figures from 2009-2011. Source: http://www.economist.com/news/china/21605942-first-two-articles-chinas-suicide-rate-looks-effect-urbanisation-back)
This is old news and has been discussed in great depth many times over. Apple has been the focus of such stories, as its iPhone is the top selling smartphone brand. As a result, it has been at the forefront in trying to improve conditions for workers. It has been working with the Fair Labor Association (www.fairlabor.org) to audit its facilities in the China supply chain. There are still challenges to be met, and it isn’t just Apple who can solve them. It’s a problem that affects the entire consumer electronics industry. So if you buy an iPhone or a Samsung phone or whatever brand of smartphone, chances are it will have come through the Chinese supply chain.
@jim, spot on.
Statistics, statistics – not a very honest story, sorru
Tim Cook says he “can’t wait” to show Apple fanboys their new products in September.
If you believe that, I have a really cool limited edition invisible, non-tactile iPad for sale…
Does that figure include the amount they are tax dodging as well. Parasites.
apple, like many large american corporations, would, under American tax laws, be liable to taxation when they repatriate profits back into the USA. This is unfair as thru have already paid tax at source in the country where the profit was made. Why should they pay tax twice. They have a duty to their shareholders to maximise profit legitimately.
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