STRANDHILL TOURISM PLAN
FROM some of the hippest eateries in the West, to some of the most inspiring landscapes and walking trails, surf breaks and seaweed baths, Strandhill is a surf surf mecca along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way.
With a busy tourism season throughout the summer, the local Strandhill Community Development have leveraged funding from the government’s Town and Village Renewal Scheme to support an integrated tourism marketing campaign to extend the tourism season, and encourage return visits in Autumn.
The new campaign will be launched at a Swell Sligo training event on Tuesday 19 th June. This week’s breakfast event takes place in Strandhill Golf Club and has a packed line-up of speakers on sustainable tourism, digital market and PR.
Cillian Murphy of Loop Head Tourism will speak on sustainable tourism strategies. Cillian was chair of Loop Head Tourism for six years when they won the Irish Times ‘Best Place to Holiday’ and increased their tourist season from six weeks to five years.
Tourism PR guru Lisa Regan will speak on lessons from Galway’s West End and how to pitch your story to the media. The campaign is set to extend the tourism season into Autumn, as well as increasing the length of bed-nights per person and spend per head by initially targeting families and social energisers - two tourism audiences who want action-packed days as well as fun-filled nights.
Adopting three strategic thrusts for the marketing of Strandhill this summer, the promotion includes an integrated marketing campaign to share all the inspiring Strandhill moments from dawn to dusk, incentivising return visits in Autumn, and enhancing the delivery of the overall tourism message to include heritage assets like Carrowmore Megalithic Tombs, walking trails on Knocknarea and Killaspugbrone, as well as the well known activities of surfing and water sports.
A focal point of the campaign is a new social media campaign called Strandhill Moments which will encourage visitors and locals alike to Strandhill to use the hashtag #StrandhillMoments. The campaign includes a revamp of the tourism website GoStrandhill.com, featuring interactive map with attractions and local businesses, Strandhill package deals and featured itineraries for families and groups, as well as marketing, training and mentoring supports for local tourism businesses. A team of local creative professionals has been commissioned to work on the campaign.
A new media bank of photos has been commissioned and will be available to support the campaign through online channels and in print media. A new series of promotional videos have also been commissioned and will be released across the Summer and Autumn months.
For further information see gostrandhill.com or follow the hashtag online #StrandhillMoments