This article is from page 66 of the 2006-10-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 66 JPG
FÁILTE Ireland have given Clare County Council the green light to develop and implement the €1.4 million tourism management plan for the Burren.
The three-year scheme aims at improving the regions infrastructure by using new technologies such as touch screen digital information kiosks.
The plan will also incorporate the development of themed walking routes and the promotion of entry points to the Burren at five locations.
The project is entitled “Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative” and is the first time that the local authority and community groups have come together to plan for the future of the region.
Organisations such as Burrenbeo Teo, the Heritage Council and the North Clare Local Area Network have come together with Clare County Council and Shannon Development in planning this project.
“The Burren Region is long recognised as one of Europe’s most important landscapes due to the wealth and diversity of its natural and cultural heritage,” said Tomás Mac Conmara, Acting Heritage Officer with Clare County Council.
“It’s feared, however, that the unmanaged expansion of tourism in the Burren may potentially threaten the very resource on which the region depends. The Environmental Protection of the Burren through Visitor Management Initiative project has been initiated in response to this threat.”