At the most recent Waterford Rural Tourism Network (WRTN) cluster meetings Waterford City and County Council and Fáilte Ireland, together with Runda Hospitality & Tourism Solutions, visited and heard from businesses across the County about the challenges and opportunities that the 2024 summer season presented.
The Waterford Rural Tourism Network is made up of five cluster areas (Copper Coast, Blackwater Valley, Comeraghs, Gaeltacht, and Waterford Estuary) and each of the five meetings took place at a business within the relevant cluster area during the month of September.
Businesses were keen to highlight challenges they encountered this year which included, the weather, increased costs, lack of evening time food offering / things to do. Positives were also highlighted and included the success of online bookings, new products enticing new markets, the use of collaboration and referral to increase business, the importance of the international market, and strong repeat business proving that visitor satisfaction with the destination and overall experience were very positive.
The network co-ordinator, Julie O’Brien, of Runda Hospitality and Tourism Solutions, led discussions and provided feedback on the challenges encountered and framed how some of the positive reports from the season could be transformed into bigger opportunities for the area. The recent and upcoming supports, training and networking events were outlined, and businesses were given the opportunity to feedback on what other supports they require to develop rural tourism in Waterford. Some businesses have already been connected with the Waterford Local Enterprise Office for individual business specific supports and other businesses were encouraged to avail of similar opportunities for their business.
Waterford City and County Council looks forward to continuing the development of the Waterford Rural Tourism Network in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and other key stakeholders, including Runda Hospitality and Tourism Solutions, Waterford LEO and Waterford Leader Partnership.
To continue the development of the WRTN the following events will be taking place before the end of the year:
- Copper Coast Learning Journey on 2nd October
- Fáilte Ireland Champions Programme in The Park Hotel Dungarvan on 10th October
- WRTN – Network wide event on 7th November
To find out more about the Waterford Rural Tourism Network or join one of the five Clusters in Waterford, please email caroline@runda.ie.
This project is funded by Waterford City & County Council and Fáilte Ireland.
