One of Mayo's best kept secrets has been identified by An Taisce for its tourism potential.
The Mullet Peninsula, situated on the north-western tip of the county, which includes the barony of Erris and Belmullet town, has been pinpointed as being ripe for tourism development.
A two-year study was carried out by An Taisce in association with Mayo County Council and funded by the Department of the Environment. The report concludes that the wealth of natural resources in this low-lying peninsula with its extensive soft coastline, remote location and sparse population, offers prime material for the development of activity-based holidays.
It also highlights the attractiveness of the area to other niche tourism markets which rely on cultural heritage attractions. These include the Irish language (which is spoken in parts of Erris), unspoiled landscapes and ecological riches.
According to the study, The Mullet, as it is familiarly known, possesses rich scenic resources, high-quality rivers and lakes, bays, mudflats and estuaries, offshore islands, unpolluted beaches, extensive sand dune systems, spectacular cliffs and ecologically rich peat lands.
Much of Erris has been designated under schemes such as Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas for Birds and National Heritage Areas.
The report notes that such designation has been shown worldwide to attract visitors because of the ecological importance it attaches to the areas for their unspoilt, high scenic qualities and because of the commitment it implies to ensuring their future protection. However, surveys carried out into current visitor profiles show that most tourism markets remain virtually untapped. While the region enjoys some attention during summer, a large percentage of visitors tend to be from Britain who travel to Erris primarily because of family connections.
There are many Northern Ireland visitors, but Irish visitors apart, German nationals seem to be the only tourists who regularly travel to this hideaway paradise in north Mayo.
Fifty-four per cent of visitors were said to have been told about Mayo as a holiday destination by friends and relatives. Use of the Internet for such purposes was found to be negligible.
Employment in the Mullet Peninsula is mostly in agriculture, with a low proportion of workers in service employment, reflecting the under-development of tourism employment.
As a result of a comparison study carried out between The Mullet and the already well-established tourist resort of Achill Island in Co Mayo, An Taisce has issued a number of recommendations as to how the tourist industry should be developed in Mayo's coastal areas.
It was stated that tourism policy must be part of an integrated approach between local development agencies and community and individual groups, so that local people are encouraged to participate fully. Development must at all times be sensitive to the vulnerability of the landscape to change and to its capacity to absorb new development.
Emphasis on community-based rural tourism is also recommended, by which visitors are encouraged to come and stay within the community and to enjoy activities based on the physical and cultural resources, including walking, fishing, dolphin watching, language learning, water sports, bird watching, and summer schools.
Accommodation, largely undeveloped due to the area's relative remoteness, must also be improved.
Recent developments, including an award-winning 18-hole championship golf course at Carne and a newly refurbished hotel, Teach Iorrais, in nearby Geesala, are two welcome additions noted in the study.
In conclusion, the report, Sustainable Tourism in the Coastal Zone, proposes that a new rural tourism policy recognising that rural areas offer a distinct product should be developed at national level.
In the meantime, a new co-ordinating tourism marketing company, Margaiocht Turasoireacht Iar Thuaisceart Mhaigh Eo, is being formed for north-west Mayo.