Ireland’s natural environment is the cornerstone of Irish tourism and it is recognised that visitor experience is improved when natural habitat is presented in its unspoiled state. With this mind, in tandem with the farmer participation programme, the LIFE on Machair project team will work with Fáilte Ireland to coordinate a series of community workshops for locals, tourism business and service providers at target areas, and members of Local Authorities over the duration of the project.
These workshops will integrate participation of key stakeholders to raise awareness of the sensitivities of Machair systems and the potential to integrate and embed sustainable tourism and recreational practices across the target areas. The main focus of the workshops will be developing ways to:
- Reduce the impacts of recreational activities on the Machair systems,
- Encourage new and existing local tourism initiatives to avoid impacting negatively on Machair systems, and
- Highlight how these systems provide a sustainable tourism opportunity to locals.
One of the outcomes related to these workshops, will be the development of a guidance document to facilitate sustainable tourism at Machair sites by Fáilte Ireland.
A community fund will also be administered to provide seed funding towards the development of eco-friendly initiatives that will contribute to the project’s objectives.
More details of community workshops and funding opportunities to follow in 2023.
