Dragon's Den star to speak at Tourism Connect - to unlock Donegal’s full potential

Local tourism businesses and ventures are invited to attend the inaugural ‘Tourism Connect’ event, hosted by broadcaster and journalist Richard Curran during Local Enterprise Week next month.

The conference, a collaboration between Donegal County Council, Donegal Tourism CLG and Fáilte Ireland, aims to foster meaningful connections among tourism providers across all of Donegal.

It will take place at the Mount Errigal Hotel, Letterkenny on Wednesday, March 5 from 9am until 2.30pm. Keynote speaker Richard Curran, of RTE television Dragon’s Den fame, lives in Drung, Redcastle.

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By encouraging referrals, collaborative partnerships, and the sharing of innovative practices, ‘Tourism Connect’ seeks to maximise the visitor experience, promote year-round tourism, and achieve a balanced geographical distribution of visitors across County Donegal.

The event aspires to empower local businesses to work collectively, showcasing Donegal as a premier, inclusive and sustainable destination for all seasons.

Face-to-face networking sessions are being facilitated among accommodation providers, visitor attractions and activity or adventure providers to provide them with the opportunity to forge new connections and renew old ones.

Joan Crawford, Wild Atlantic Way manager with Fáilte Ireland, says it’s all about encouraging more people to come here and stay longer.

“There have been so many new additions and updates to the tourism offering in Donegal, it is important to come together and identify opportunities for cross-selling and collaboration to encourage visitors to explore further across the region, stay longer and spend more.”

“Our recent research, conducted to mark the 10th anniversary of the Wild Atlantic Way, shows that the Wild Atlantic Way drives €3 billion in revenue per year and a key focus for the future will be growing the year-round appeal of the northern half of the route.”

DCC Cathaoirleach Councillor Niamh Kennedy said Tourism Connect is an ideal opportunity for tourism businesses to come together, to meet each other, share ideas and collaborate.

Joy Browne, Tourism Manager with Donegal County Council, said: “The inaugural ‘Tourism Connect’ event gives us the opportunity to showcase our product and connect with other businesses in the county. By working together, we can position Donegal as a great place to come and visit.”

Adding to this, Brenda Hegarty, Head of Enterprise Donegal said: “We are delighted that this event is taking place during Local Enterprise Week. We are excited to present such a jam-packed programme of events from March 3-7.”

To express interest in attending please email: waw@failteireland.ie or tourism@donegalcoco.ie