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Displaying items by tag: Egypt

An Irish free diver in Egypt who last year sought public support for his competitive efforts is paying it forward with a plan to walk for 24 hours straight in aid of Pieta House.

Dave McGowan tells the Irish Examiner that his charitable challenge is just the latest in a series of adventures he’s been setting himself on his birthday each year.

This year he’s on his own in Dahab — where he’s based himself to train for the next level of international free diving competition, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

But McGowan is well used to the solo rigours of long-distance cycling and running, as he comtemplates the 100km hike ahead this coming Thursday (4 February).

And mindful of the difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic affecting society both in Egypt and back home, the Mullingar man has selected a mental health charity for his fundraising efforts.

The Irish Examiner has more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving

A Carlow man has died after taking ill while on a diving trip in Egypt, as the Irish Mirror reports.

Martin Peter ‘Murt’ Flynn (45) died on Friday after a “brief illness” in the resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, a popular hotspot for divers the world over due to its clear waters and coral reefs.

He has been visiting for a week-long diving holiday with Kilkenny Sub Aqua Club, whose members as well as friends and family expressed their shock at his loss.

The Irish Mirror has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Diving
Tagged under
The National Road's Authority (NRA) are expecting shipments of emergency salt from Egypt and Morocco to arrive next week, according to a report in the Irish Independent. 

Two vessels, the CSL Prospect and Olivia are heading for the Port of Cork with a combined cargo of 11,500 tonnes of salt. In the meantime councils are coping with rapidly dwindling supplies to keep the main roads gritted over the weekend. If the councils fail to ration supplies, the authorities will quickly run out of salt, sparking a crisis for motorists. For more on this story click here.

The Port of Cork added that these salt-shipments will continue beyond next week. In addition to next weeks delivery, more vessels will be calling to the port, bringing in total 35,000 tonnes of salt over the next few weeks.

According to weather forecasts, there will be significant accumulations of snow expected in most parts of the country. Up to 10cm of snow may fall over the next few days. For information on the latest weather updates logon to www.met.ie/forecasts/

Published in Weather

Marine Leisure & Aquatic Tourism

Domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million.

Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips.

While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. 

According to the National University of Galway (NUIG) research the average expenditure per coastal day trip in 2018 was calculated at €95. The equivalent for coastal overnight trips was €310. The estimated water-based activity expenditure per person per trip across the sample was €56 rising to €73 for the subsample that actually undertake waterbased activities on their coastal visits. The results also indicate that domestic tourists undertake the majority of their marine activities on the West and South coasts of Ireland and that there are notable differences in participation rates across age groupings, social classes and by family makeup.

A domestic tourist is defined in this report as a person who spends at least one night away from home on their trip. Total expenditure by domestic tourists in coastal areas was estimated to be €698 million in 2018, which represents 35% of the total expenditure by domestic tourists (using the broader Fáilte Ireland measure for domestic tourists that includes business trips equating to 10.92 million in total trips and €2,006 million in total revenue).

The marine-related activity expenditure, or what might truly be referred to as domestic marine tourism, is estimated to generate revenue of €381 million with €172 million being spent on water-based activities. Marine tourism makes up an estimated 19% of total domestic tourism expenditure.

Marine Leisure Tourism - FAQ

Coastal tourism refers to land-based and water-based tourism activities taking place on the coast for which the proximity to the sea is a condition including also their respective services. Coastal and Marine Tourism & Leisure are seen as one of the Blue Economy (BE) sectors that can help unlock the potential of multi-use of space at sea by engaging with Blue Growth (BG) sectors such as Aquaculture and Marine Renewable Energy among others.

Sports: sailing, surfing, diving and fishing Heritage: Unesco coastal villages, archaeological sites of interest, biospheres and historical points of interest Arts: coastal museums, art galleries, museums, wrecks Education: Eco-tourism, field courses, NGOs. Food: Seafood restaurants, Seafood festivals

NUI Galway carried out a survey of domestic residents in Ireland in 2019 as part of a survey entitled "Valuing and understanding the dynamics of Ireland's Ocean Economy". The purpose of the household survey was to profile the domestic market for single-day trips (leisure) and overnight trips (tourism) for coastal and marine-related activities in Ireland. The results of the survey are also used to estimate what proportion of an Irish resident's total domestic tourism expenditure is in coastal areas (coastal tourism) and what proportion is spent on undertaking marine-related activities (marine tourism).

The NUI results highlight the important contribution that Ireland's marine and coastal resources make to the leisure experiences of the general population and the importance of the domestic tourism market to local coastal economies. The analysis indicates that domestic coastal tourism expenditure was approximately €698 million in 2018, while domestic marine tourism generated €381 million. Activities such as walking/ running along the coast, swimming and beach visitations are among the most popular activities for domestic visitors on both day and overnight trips. While participation rates in pursuits such as bird and wildlife watching in coastal areas and visiting nature reserves, etc. in coastal areas were lower, these activities did see the highest frequency of both day and overnight trips for those active in these activities. Satisfaction with the available marine-related leisure facilities was also found to be very high across all activities.

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