Conference looks to the future, with an eye on our past
RAPID tourism growth has brought West Kerry to a point where the special character that attracts visitors to the area is in danger of being lost, a conference in the Skellig Hotel was told last week.
The Sea, Land and Spirit conference, organised by Sacred Heart University (SHU) through its Dingle campus, included contributions from an interdisciplinary panel of national and international experts on issues ranging from climate change to tourism development that can impact on the coastal environment and coastal communities.
SHU Associate Professor of Marketing Enda McGovern said that by raising issues such as the threat of over-development and the impact of climate change the conference gives the local community an opportunity to make informed decisions that will be of huge benefit in the long run.
Conference organiser Prof John Roney said West Kerry is still close to a “pristine older community” and, despite rapidly increasing tourism, “it still hasn’t gone so far down the road of development to have lost its identity”.
“The question to be asked now is what direction do we go in from here and that decision should be based on the area’s cultural heritage. Sacred Heart University can help the local community identify what its core heritage is and, as an outsider, we have the ability to listen and mediate in discussions about where the community is going, what can change and what should be preserved,” he said
Environmental Protection Agency Director Micheál Ó Cinnéide from Feothanach said the conference was extremely valuable in that it raised issues concerning the environment, sustainable tourism and the future of the fishing industry that were critically important to the future of West Kerry.