Fáilte Ireland to bring high impact festival to Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands
Fáilte Ireland wants to bring a high impact festival to Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands to encourage more visitors to the region.
The National Tourism Development Authority will undertake a feasibility study to assess all aspects of staging a major festival in the region and the likely impact on visitor numbers, both domestic and international.
Paddy Matthews, Head of Operations of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands said: “We have seen that festivals motivate over 200,000 overseas visitors to come to Ireland and contribute €108m to the economy every year.
“New research into Fáilte Ireland funded festivals shows that almost 60% of overseas visitors attend festivals outside of Dublin. However, we don’t have what is regarded as a high impact international festival in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands.
“We are carrying out this study to explore the feasibility of developing one for the region. If we did, it would be transformative.”
Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands incorporates the counties of Longford, Roscommon, Cavan, Westmeath, Tipperary, Leitrim, Galway, Clare and Offaly.