Irish Lights Safety & Navigation Irish Lights - Statutory - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Irish Lights

Safety & Navigation

Provision & Maintenance of General Aids to Marine Navigation (AtoN) Marking or removal of dangerous wreck outside of harbour areas Superintendence and Management of Local AtoN

All Ireland Network 70 Lighthouses 115 Buoys 24 Beacons 23 Racon 82 AIS 3 DGPS

Irish Lights - Statutory Functions

3

Bull Rock

30 Metre Contour

Bull Rock

• Consolidate to Old

Siren House

• Main/Standby Vega

VLB92 lanterns

• 18’ range from either

lantern

• Tideland Seabeacon

II Racon

• Kannad AIS AtoN

Aids to Navigation

(traffic/risk)

Modern Aids to Navigation

Surplus Property - Consolidation Roche’s Pt.

Vacant Dwelling Consol to Tower Surplus engine room

Great Lighthouses of Ireland Locations

Vision

Develop a flagship tourism experience, manifested in an all-island lighthouse brand, with the potential to gain iconic status and become a key marketing asset for Irish tourism, domestically and internationally.

• 7 High quality visitor experiences / attractions
• 8 sites offering lighthouse accommodation
• Promoted under a single brand supported by

Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland

• Drive tourism business and stimulate local

economic activity and employment

• Secure and preserve lighthouse heritage and

history

Investment

Mar 2012 Stage 1 - Funding Application to SEUPB May 2012 Stage 2 – Submission of Business Plan & Economic Appraisal Mar 2013 Awarded €2.5m

Project Scope

1.

Refurbish 5 sites in Donegal and NI resulting in new high quality accommodation and visitor attractions

2.

Find suitable third parties to operate and build a sustainable business at each site and to develop a stakeholder network to maximize local economic potential

3.

Develop a new ‘brand’ for the all island lighthouse tourism project and a business model which all the

• perators could sign up to

4.

Interpretation, Training, Toolkits, Marketing Plan 2014 - 2016 and dedicated web site

Project Partners

5 Supporting Public Bodies 3 Tourism Agencies

Irish Landmark Trust RSPB Hook Heritage Ltd Valentia Island Co-Op Ballycotton Island Tours Ltd Fanad Development Co. Ltd Mid & East Antrim Council Clare County Council Clare Island Lighthouse Ltd

Donegal County Council Údarás na Gaeltachta

• Dept. of Regional Development NI Transport NI

SEUPB (Special EU Programmes Body)

Fáilte Ireland Tourism Ireland Tourism Northern Ireland

9 Third Party Operators

Project Management

Key Deliverables

• 1. Refurbishment Programme
• Planning, Environmental Reports,

Design, Build and Fit Out, Interpretation

• 2. Brand Development, Marketing, Training
• 3. Commercial development plans for each

site and Brand Partnership Business Model

Visitor Accommodation

• St. John’s Point Down

• St. John’s Point Down

• St. John’s Point Down

• St. John’s Point Down
• St. John’s Point Down

Blackhead Antrim

Visitor Accommodation

Blackhead Antrim

Rathlin West, Rathlin Island

1 3 4 1 2

Rathlin West, Rathlin Island

Rathlin West Rathlin Island

Rathlin West, Rathlin Island

Rathlin West –Visitor Centre

Rathlin West, Rathlin Island

Rathlin West –Visitor Centre

Rathlin West, Rathlin Island

Rathlin West, Rathlin Island

Rathlin West, Rathlin Island

Fanad Head Donegal

1 2 3

(1, 2 & 3) Visitor Accommodation Tower Tours & Exhibition Space

Fanad Head Donegal

Fanad Head Donegal

Fanad Head Donegal

Fanad Head Donegal

Fanad Head Donegal

Fanad Head Donegal

. John’s Point Donegal

• t. John’s Point Donegal

Visitor Accommodation

• St. John’s Point Donegal

• St. John’s

Point Donegal

• St. John’s Point Donegal

• St. John’s Point Donegal

Required AtoN equipment transferred to Tower

• St. John’s Point Donegal

• 2. Brand Development,

Interpretation & Training

• 1. Common brand that all sites can trade and

market under that over time will gain iconic status and become a key marketing asset for Irish tourism domestically and internationally

• 2. Translate the brand into compelling and

consistent Visitor Experiences by researching and delivering themes and stories that support the brand promise

• 3. Provide training and toolkits for tour guides,
• nline storytelling and marketing

Broad Deep Consultation

12 In-depth interviews with CIL staff, Archivist, RSPB, tourism agency personnel, NIEA, Carrickfergus Borough Council 7 Workshops with

• perating partners and

tourism agencies, CIL staff, Rathlin and Fanad Communities 13 Site visits to Rathlin, Fanad, St Johns Donegal, St Johns Downpatrick, Blackhead and the Baily. 2 Familiarisation Briefings at CIL Head Office and on board Granuaile 2 Consumer Focus Groups in Dublin & Belfast. Review of CIL documentation, international lighthouse and tourism brands and

• ther desk research.

Ongoing Consultations and meetings with potential operators, tourism stakeholders, CIL and InterReg Steering Group.

Brand Design

Brand Design

Brand Strategy

• Position Great Lighthouses of Ireland as a signature,

iconic and must do experience

• Specifically seek to promote Great Lighthouses of Ireland

as a key experiential proof point for the Wild Atlantic Way, Ancient East and Causeway Coastal Route

• Build the brand and the individual lighthouse experiences to

appeal to different segments as well as interest groups

• Motivate the tourism agencies (who have the resources and

the need to get new product out) to promote Great Lighthouses of Ireland on both a domestic and overseas basis as part of the propositions they are already focussed

• n

The clouds over Blackhead darken

• quickly. The wind picks up and rattles the

timber-framed sash windows on the cliff- edge cottage. Sheets of rain threaten to shatter the glass, and spray coming off the waves from Belfast Lough adds to the sense of isolated menace in the lighthouse keeper’s home. It is brilliant. This is a place for mysteries to unfold and adventures to begin, particularly if one of the travelling party is an eight- year old immersed in the world of the famous five. There is even an underground tunnel leading directly to the lighthouse.

Conor Pope – The Irish Times

Monday, July 6th, 2015

• 3. Business Model

Identify a Co-operative operating model for GLI that is sustainable and delivers success to all partners

• To enable the operators to collaborate to drive the growth

and development in visitor numbers to all sites over time

• To develop a collective plan to market and promote the

brand and visitor experience

• To research and develop new offers to keep the brand

proposition fresh, meet changing consumer needs and encourage repeat visits

• To establish clear standards to which all brand partners will

be required to comply

• To manage the sites in a sustainable manner, source

finance for ongoing development and account to CIL for the responsible use and development of the assets

Research

• Irish Tourism Associations and Groups (positioning and profile,

services and benefits, business development, governance)

• Good Food Ireland
• B&B Ireland
• Manor House Hotels
• Ireland’s Blue Book
• Hidden Ireland
• Activities, hubs and clusters e.g. Family Fun, Walkers Welcome
• International Case Studies
• Camino de Santiago
• Queensland Heritage Trails Network
• Hadrian’s Wall Trust
• Norway Tourism Driving routes
• America Byways Organisation
• Discussions with operators and agencies
• Internal analysis and option development

Advisory Group GLI Membership Association

To guide, support and inform To collectively grow and develop new business Working together to deliver more visitors, more revenue, better experiences

Operating Model:

Partnership at 2 levels

Economic Impacts

• No. of GLI Lighthouse Sites open to public 12
• No of bed nights annually (up 75%)

19,000

• Expected occupancy by year 3

50%

• No of Visitors by 2020

200,000

• Estimated Value (Direct)

€1m per annum

• Additional catalytic investment

Lessons Learned

Public/Private Collaboration

• Importance of a clear vision, supportive policy

environment and the latitude to be creative and bring multiple partners into a co-operative project structure which leverages their collective strengths ….. gets you up and running….

• Big complex project - Strong direction with a focus on

maintaining an alignment of all partner interests….. everyone wins ….

• Public sector agency support has been outstanding

(north and south) and enabled a business and community led approach to project ……. role – fill gaps quickly…..

Lessons Learned

• Re-imagine our assets in an innovative way that brings

a new value to us and stimulates wider community and SME investment

• Great Lighthouses Brand fits well with existing tourism

brands WWW, Ancient East, Causeway Coast and Mourne Way – as a result welcome addition to our marine tourism product suite and will make a strong contribution to our 6 billion tourism sector

Acknowledgements

Irish Landmark Trust RSPB Hook Heritage Ltd Valentia Island Co-Op Ballycotton Island Tours Ltd Fanad Development Co. Ltd Mid & East Antrim Council Clare County Council Clare Island Lighthouse Ltd Fáilte Ireland Tourism Ireland Tourism Northern Ireland Donegal County Council Údarás na Gaeltachta

• Dept. of Regional

Development NI Transport NI SEUPB (Special EU Programmes Body)

www.greatlighthouses.com

Thank You