Far and Wild has partnered with Donegal Local Development Company (DLDC) and three other SMEs to imagine the future for marine tourism in the North West of Ireland. The project 'Dúile Na Mara- Sea Elements/Sea Desires' is supported by the Shared Island Civic Society Fund and runs throughout 2025.
Lorcan McBride, Director of Far and Wild, described the project:
"The easiest way to know what best practice looks like in outdoor tourism is to ask the outdoors- that is, the animals and plants themselves what type of tourism they would like. The hard part is learning their language!
We are working with DLDC and three other marine tourism partners to figure this out. Our small tourism businesses bring us all into close weekly contact with a myriad of marine species and we can see the link between the need for conservation and minimising human impact. Over the course of the project we are observing and gathering evidence from the places we work in to share with each other. From this information we will try and make some very broad decisions about how to best introduce tourists to the places we all love bringing them to. This approach could be called 'ecology-led tourism'."
With outdoor experiences featuring increasingly in tourists' itineraries on the island of Ireland North and South, preserving and enhancing the natural environment is set to become a key part of tourism strategies. The marine environment has it's own unique appeal and the link between the Wild Atlantic Way and Causeway Coastal route offers an integrated tourism experience of stunning coastal and beach landscapes.
Dúile na Mara is a pilot cross-border project conceived by Far and Wild and supported by Donegal Local Development Company. The marine tourism partners involved are The Sea Collective (Gweedore), Freedive NI (Portstewart) and Maghery Coastal Adventures (Maghery, Co. Donegal) who each bring a wealth of local as well as international knowledge and experience to the project.
