Displaying items by tag: International Mirror Class Association of Ireland

Q: Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

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

15th July 2009

International Mirror Class Association of Ireland

First introduced in England in 1963, the Mirror quickly became the most popular one-design dinghy class in the world. The design allows the boat to be built from a kit, at home, with a basic knowledge of carpentry in about 120 hours. Since its introduction, over 70,000 Mirrors have been built around the world. Click here for all the latest Mirror Sailing News.

In 1990, the Mirror dinghy achieved "International status", recognized by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF – the international governing body of the sport) as a class to be promoted for active international competition.

The Mirror Class is administered by the ISAF and the International Mirror Class Association. Member countries of the IMCA include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

Graham Smith wrote, in the February 2009 issue of Afloat: "Rumour has it that the Mirror is no longer the force it once was in Irish sailing but the numbers suggest it is still in good health, even if fleets at the various championships appear to be down on previous years. The Class Association knows of 100 boats but is well aware that there a lot more which are under-utilised. Ten clubs were represented at Mirror events during the year although there are other centres where Mirrors are active.

With 27 boats, Sligo has a particularly strong fleet, reflected in the biggest fleet of the year at the Westerns, won by locals Mark and Ronan Armstrong ahead of 40 rivals. The Skerries pair of Mark Boylan and Eoin Hickey did the Easterns and Southerns double while Michael and Sarah Hill from Cultra took the Northern title before finishing fourth overall at the Europeans in Sweden. In fact, two other Irish entries finished in the top ten at that event.

But pride of place went to Adam and Toby McCullagh of Royal North of Ireland who ended the year as Irish Mirror Champions having beaten 31 other boats on their home Belfast Lough waters. Champions: Adam and Toby McCullagh, RNIYC"

International Mirror Class of Ireland – IMCAI

There is a space for Irish boating clubs and racing classes to use as their own bulletin board and forum for announcements and discussion. If you want to see a dedicated forum slot for your club or class, click here

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

What is marine leisure tourism?

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.

Give examples of marine leisure tourism?

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

What marine leisure tourism studies have been conducted in Ireland?

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).

What were the results of the NUI marine leisure tourism study?

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.