The Enterprise Centre, Boyle was the venue for a series of three
presentations by Masters Students in Rural Sustainability from the School of
Geography and Archaeology (Geography), NUI Galway. The presentations were the culmination of six
weeks of research by the students on three project proposals centred on the
town of Boyle and its environs. The proposals
were devised to initiate or expand on rural development opportunities in the
locality, drawing as far as possible on existing local resources and capacities
with the aim that the local population and economy would mainly benefit. The projects were identified through
discussion with the organisations that provided the initial opportunities for
them to be undertaken. The organisations
involved were: Boyle Town & More and
Boyle Chamber of Commerce; Lough Key Forest and Activity Park; Úna Bhán Tourism
Co-operative Society.
The first project explored the potential to make connections to place
through film-based tourism, based on the highly successful ‘Moone Boy’
television series. The concept of
film-based tourism is used to explain the reasons behind tourist visits to
destinations featured on television, video or cinema and the experiences they
hope to gain from these visits. This
form of tourism is well established as a successful economic activity in
locations in which films or TV programmes have been made or even seem to have
been made (e.g. Heartbeat, Father Ted). Based on surveys and test screenings of
Moone Boy, the idea of identifying certain focal points in the series that
could be linked to Boyle was put forward as one recommendation. The key words used to describe the setting of
Moone Boy were ‘traditional’, ‘historic’ and ‘unchanged’. The fact that Boyle
exists as a real place was seen as a very advantageous starting point. That the town has not become over-developed and
retains a traditional, authentic character was another. Providing a guided tour based around Moone
Boy and the focal points as a way of enhancing the experience of visitors was a
second key recommendation. The majority
of those surveyed had at some stage taken part in a guided tour. All of them had a positive perception of what
a tour guide added to the tourist experience in terms of knowledge, providing
explanations and interpretations, and giving the tour experience a personal
touch. The possibility of developing
merchandise relating to Moone Boy was also explored. In this regard, several traders in the town
agreed that Moone Boy had the potential to impact positively on their
businesses; however this had only been realised by a small number of them. A Moone Boy Comedy Weekend was also proposed
as a way of connecting Boyle to the series and strengthening the place link.
The second project investigated the importance of accommodation as part
of the rural tourism ‘experience’ and the potential this holds for tourism
development in Boyle. It did this
through a focus on how the Úna Bhán Tourism Co-operative facilitates and
promotes this kind of rural accommodation experience. The concept of a rural accommodation
experience is based on the idea of accommodation as a resource that is key to delivering
an overall authentic rural tourism product that is specific to the rural
locality in question. It first examined what was meant by a rural tourism
experience. This mainly implies
providing an authentic place experience which is built around local traditions,
cultures, foods and heritage, as well as the physical characteristics of the
location. The accommodation provider is
in the position to draw all of these together in a number of ways; for example,
through the form of the accommodation itself which fulfils rural-associated
expectations, and through the ways providers actively manage the tourism
experience for their guests. A survey of
potential tourists on what they would value most about a rural accommodation
experience showed that their host having local knowledge and being able to
advise on local activities, sites of interest, places to eat, etc. were the
most important. This was followed by personal
touch, i.e. looking after guests and enhancing the authentic experience. Small scale accommodation was also associated
with the rural, with a slight preference for B&B over hotel accommodation,
with self-catering also being highly favoured. The value of the Úna Bhán structure is that it
acts as a central support organisation to its members who are also rural accommodation
providers. It centralises many of the
functions needed to deliver a quality rural accommodation experience; for
example, it sources and holds information on local activities, makes available
promotional and marketing material, and provides advice and support in a
two-way process –to both shareholders and the general public. It facilitates ‘packaging’ of rural tourism
experiences based on what the individual tourist requires, from activity-based
holidays to those based around local heritage, culture or food. Because the rural tourism industry involves
many potential groups and individuals, one of its weaknesses is that management
is very fragmented. The value of
integrated structures like Úna Bhán is that it provides co-ordination,
interacts with funding bodies, etc., so that individual members can concentrate
on what they do best and develop their individual quality accommodation
product.
The third project focused on Lough Key Forest Park as one of the most
spectacular natural amenities in the county and in the west region. In collaboration with the Lough Key Forest
and Activity Park organisation, its starting point was an acknowledgement that any
development of Lough Key must protect and sustain this natural resource for the
benefit of the Boyle area into the future, i.e., the concept of sustainable
rural development. Lough Key in its entirety is a scenic and natural area which
for many people constitutes a ‘therapeutic landscape’. The concept of therapeutic landscapes comes from
health geography. It refers to an
understanding of environments as they contribute to a sense of well-being and
healing. The aim therefore was to
investigate a sustainable activity that could draw upon all of these existing
attributes of Lough Key but not over-exploit the natural resource base. Camping was seen as one strong possibility
for the following reasons: a) it can work sympathetically with the natural
environment in terms of low-impact exploitation; b) Lough Key’s natural
amenities ensure an exceptional experience in terms of engagement with the
natural environment from the therapeutic perspective; c) camping as a form of
accommodation ensures overnight stays and associated economic spin-offs. Camping is already established in Lough Key
Forest Park, so the thinking was expanded to introduce a more novel aspect –
that of ‘glamping’ or ‘glamour camping’.
Glamping aims to keep the close engagement with an authentic natural
setting, but also the modern conveniences and comforts of more conventional
accommodation. In a short survey of the
local population in Boyle, a majority felt that glamping could contribute to
Boyle’s tourist industry. The groups that
were identified as potential targets for glamping were families, couples and
hen/stag parties. On the idea of Lough
Key Forest Park as a location for glamping, the majority believed that glamping
would attract tourists there, and would enhance their experience of the Park
and its amenities. It could furthermore
be linked to the other wide range of activities available not only in the Park
but also in the surrounding Boyle area. One
of the prohibitive aspects of glamping relates to the initial set up costs,
with the smallest size tent or ‘yurt’ priced at over €3,000, and the most
expensive costing up to €20,000. Storage
of equipment during off-peak seasons must also be factored in.
This form of collaboration between the MA students and
the three organisations in question was based on a Service Learning approach to
teaching and learning about rural sustainability, through a module entitled
‘Engaging with Rural Communities’. The
aim of the Service Learning model is that the students apply and test their
knowledge already gained in the classroom setting to real-life rural situations
and problems. In this case, they were
asked to engage with their respective organisations, to develop their own insights
and ideas based on these interactions and experiences outside of the classroom,
and then to apply their learning to devise project proposals that could have meaningful
impacts for those organisations. The
other aims of Service Learning are that students develop their capacities for
civic engagement, and achieve personal goals in relation to professional
development. NUI Galway is strongly
committed to promoting meaningful links and collaboration with the wider
community through its Community Knowledge Initiative (CKI) and this module, ‘Engaging
with Rural Communities’, is endorsed under this initiative. The module is co-ordinated by Dr. Marie Mahon
(marie.mahon@nuigalway.ie) and
Dr. Maura Farrell (maura.farrell@nuigalway.ie). The Masters in Rural Sustainability is a
full-time, one-year Programme.
Blog written by Dr. Marie Mahon, NUIG
