Missing foreign travel? Don’t fret, there are Hidden gems here at home
IF Matt Damon and his family’s bolthole is fast becoming a tourist landmark on the southside of Dublin, the northside coastline has plenty in its favour too.
Mark McHale runs Hidden Howth Experiences, which he created with the aim of developing unique, once-in-a-lifetime tours for guests from all over the world. However, the international aspect to his business has been wiped out by the Covid-19 crisis – so he is trying to reposition it for the Irish market.
He said: ‘We offer experiences to guests from all over the world, and from Ireland, which has been a smaller part of it. Walking tours, hiking tours, there’s a ghost tour, and probably one of the most popular is a craft beer and seafood tour where we walk around some of my favourite locations in Howth, drinking the local craft beer and eating seafood and telling stories.’
His main concern right now is the loss of the tourist trade, specifically the large cohort of US visitors. ‘All my American visitors have disappeared,’ he said. ‘We’re trying to turn our attention to the Irish market. We’re trying to get those people to come out to the beauty spots and take the tours, to think that if their vacation is going to be in Ireland, make the most of it the same as they would do anywhere. If they think they know a place, they might still find some interesting facts and something new.’
The Shop Ireland campaign supported by DMG Media is offering support to local businesses like Mark’s. While it’s hard to think of an aspect of Irish business that hasn’t been impacted by Covid19, tourism has been hit harder than most.
Mark revealed: ‘Literally all my bookings are gone. And the handful [that aren’t] are probably down to people who haven’t got around to cancelling. That’s the worrying thing, that when we’re allowed to go back and do the tours, that there isn’t even one booking there. I’m hoping to try and build an internal market, and go online as well and build a virtual 360 tour.’
The hiddenhowthexperiences.com website gives a good flavour of Howth and the picturesque surrounds along with the various tours and trails.
‘For people who had plans for August, September, but who are not likely to travel abroad, there’s a lot in Ireland to see. Make the best uses of what we have here – stay local, buy local,’ Mark said.