Developing a
Greenway Destination
Limerick Kerry Greenway Destination Development Training Programme, April 2021 - June 2022
This was a LEADER-funder programme facilitated by West Limerick Resources (WLR) and North East West Kerry Development Company (NEWKD). The Limerick Greenway officially opened in July 2021 with the North Kerry Greenway due to open in the Summer of 2022. This represented a significant new tourism infrastructure in an area that did not traditionally have high volumes of visitor traffic.
Project Objectives
The objectives of the programme were to:
- Empower communities and businesses along the Greenway make the most of a new tourism opportunity
- develop strong, collaborative networks and a shared vision for the development of the Greenway
- provide an opportunity for individual businesses and communities along the route to network and build relationships
- create a framework for ongoing collaboration between stakeholders in both counties
- develop a “Destination Mindset” amongst community and trade that transcended the county boundaries and had the capacity to deliver a distinctive Greenway visitor experience
- build awareness amongst the communities and businesses of each other’s product offerings to facilitate collaborations and cross-promotion
"I can't remember when I attended a more useful set of workshops. Every module was extremely useful and informative and I am changing my business plan to reflect what I've learned."
Participant Feedback May 2022
Project Deliverables
- The Greenway Champions Programme – a self-directed, online resource for use by participants, teams and community groups.
- A Programme Opening Seminar to inspire purpose and vision for the Greenway with three industry guest speakers.
- Town to Trail Engagement Sessions and localised training supports.
- Online training including a variety of expert trainers and industry guest speakers.
- A Programme Springboard Networking Event.
- A Field Trip to the Waterford Greenway including meetings with representatives of local government, community, commerce and business.
- Two Certified Leave No Trace Awareness Courses.
Topics covered in training
- How to work together and tell the story of your Greenway Place.
- How to create a Great Greenway Experience.
- How to work successfully with your Council, Fáilte Ireland and other stakeholders.
- The Agritourism, Food Tourism and Farm Experiences Opportunity.
- How to be an accessible and inclusive Greenway Visitor Experience.
- How to cost and price your Greenway Visitor Experience.
- How to sell and market your Visitor Experience.
- How to network, generate referrals and link up your experiences.
- How to green your Greenway accommodation or attraction.
- How to generate local and national media coverage.
- How to make the most of the national and local marketing campaigns.
- How to market the Greenway together online this season.
Added Value and Impact
- The Greenway Champions Programme
- Upon completion of the course, participants achieved a Digital Certificate of Completion, a physical Certificate of completion and a window poster for their premises.
- Businesses and community groups were encouraged to get all their staff and members to take part in this course to diffuse the knowledge of the Greenway to wider circles.
- Online Training sessions:
- Each training session included breakout room activities. This offered trainees and stakeholders from right along the route the opportunity to network and learn about how they could collectively leverage their new tourism infrastructure as well as each others businesses and communities.
- On Location Town-to-Trail Audits:
- These on-location, in-person audits helped locals put themselves in the shoes of the visitor and envision how they could improve and better connect their town to the Greenway trail.
- 'One Greenway' Destination Networking Event:
- To finish the programme, a networking springboard event was hosted to build momentum post-programme
- Certified Leave No Trace Awareness Course:
- Two Leave No Trace Certified Awareness Courses were held in towns located on the Greenway. Emphasis was placed on actions that participants could take in their communities with what they had learned.
- 2-Day Field Trip to The Waterford Greenway
- The group met with local business, chamber and community representatives and got the opportunity to have a guided cycle of the Greenway. The field trip resulted in rich learnings from a Greenway that had already 5 years experience in hosting visitors. There were many new ideas hatched between participants themselves resulting in new collaborations upon return to Limerick and Kerry.
"It has been an enlightening and enjoyable journey having Tina, Marie and Aoibheann
as our facilitators, co-thinkers and educators on a programme that has already
begun to benefit whole communities before it even finished. Thank you!"
Participant Feedback May 2022
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Contact UsMAKING A DIFFERENCE
As part of our sustainability policy, The Tourism Space™, has committed to raising awareness of how tourism can positively contribute to the global sustainability agenda. We have extensive experience, from both a research and practice perspective, in supporting the emergence of sustainable approaches within businesses and destinations. We integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into our programme design and delivery, thereby building awareness and understanding and highlighting how each business and destination can contribute in practical and meaningful ways.
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