Displaying items by tag: Whale Watch 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 August 2013

Whale Watch Day This Sunday Makes Heritage Week List

#MarineWildlife - This Sunday's All-Ireland Whale Watch Day has made the list of The Irish Times' 40 things to do in Heritage Week 2013.

The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) will be hosting free, guided and land-based whale watching events at 16 headlands around the Irish coast from 2pm to 5pm this Sunday 18 August.

The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the 24 cetacean species recorded in Irish waters by giving the general public the chance to see our whales and dolphins in their natural environment.

And as the group tells RTÉ News, the recent arrival of minke whales in great numbers spells "a good omen" for this Sunday's island-wide watch.

The IWDG has the full list of whale watch spots for this weekend HERE.

Whale Watch Ireland 2013 just one example of the wide range of activities taking place during Heritage Week from 17-25 August.

Other events on the water during the week include Victorian seaside celebrations in Kilkee, Co Clare on 21 August; a river walk along the Lee in Cork city centre on 24 August; lighthouse tours at Galley Head, Loop Head and Wicklow Head on 25 August; and the Galway Hooker festival, Cruinniú na mBád, this weekend 17-18 August.

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Whale Watch Ireland Produces Good Sightings Despite Poor Weather

#MARINE WILDLIFE - Loop Head in Clare was certainly the place to be for the annual Whale Watch Ireland on Sunday 19 August, with dolphins and two species of whale spotted despite the poor weather.

According to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG), which organised the national event in conjunction with National Heritage Week to promote consevation of Ireland's marine wildlife, some 80 whale watchers and curious beginners spotted 11 bottlenose dolphins, a minke whale and a large baleen whale species - the only whales seen on the day among the 16 organised coastal watches.

Overall sightings were good, even with the unfavourable conditions experienced at half the viewing sites, and which saw the event at Baginbun Head on the Hook Peninsula in Co Wexford sadly cancelled.

In total, cetateans were seen at 10 of the 16 sites, which is up on the 54% viewing rate recorded at last year's national whale watch.

The biggest attended sites this year were Killiney Bay in Dublin, where three harbour porpoises were seen by 100 viewers; Galley Head in Cork, where six porpoises were witnessed in adverse weather that still brought out 120 eager cetation spotters.

Dolphins and porpoise together entertained the modest crowds at Howth head in north Dublin, St John's Point in Donegal and Bloody Bridge in Co Down, while the biggest count of bottlenose dolphins apart from Loop Head was the 10 recorded at Portmuck in Antrim.

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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.