Finalists: Digital Tourism

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BallydehobVirtual Tour – interactive tool showcasing this hidden gem

Ballydehob is one of the first to provide a virtual tour of an entire town including interactive and social elements showcasing business, people, culture, history and landscape of this hidden gem to audiences in Ireland and around the world.  It allows visitors to ‘meet the locals’ through audio recordings.  The project team adopted digital communications such as video explainers, landing pages, web forms and tools like Google Sheets. The social impact of the project has been significant – the local community, for whom digital was a new concept, embraced it with enthusiasm and plans are already underway to develop the concept further.

Blackrock – Website, videos and social media to promote the tourism offering of this seaside village

Blackrock village is a traditional seaside fishing village that decided to use digital platforms to attract visitors. This included a new website, social channels, video, e-newsletters, podcasts as well as digital maps.  The website is content-rich with information about events, things to do, accommodation, food and drink as well as history and heritage.

Drogheda Urban Art Trail and Digital Legacy

Drawda Urban Art Trail was developed to reinvigorate lesser visited spaces in the town with public art bringing to life stories of characters from mythology.  The murals and art installations are promoted through the use of QR codes, audio trails, digital maps and brochures as well as on social media and websites of partner organisations. To ensure longevity of the project and provide a behind-the-scenes view, videos recordings of the ‘making of the murals’ were published on YouTube.

DunleweyDigital History and Heritage

Dunlewey developed a digital project to showcase the history and heritage of the village and surrounding area. Key points of interest were identified for a heritage trail. It used storymaps, online exhibitions, online heritage trails and interactive maps.  The oral tradition of older people and local farmers was captured –  including names of places, lakes and fields – and recorded for future generations. Original records such as school registration books, were photographed and digital books created. Virtual tours of the local landscape were created. Digital has allowed the story of Dunlewey to be shared with locals and visitors alike.

Edgeworthstown – The Maria Edgeworth Centre in the Digital Age

The Edgeworth family were respected educationalists, inventors, writers and supporters of social change who hosted famous visitors such as Sir Walter Scott and William Wordsworth amongst others. A museum dedicated to Maria Edgeworth contains many interesting artefacts which have now been digitised with the help of the Bodleian Library & National Library of Ireland, as part of the digital strategy to bring the museum to a wider audience.  A new website was developed, social media accounts set up, interactive digital blackboards installed, a POS system developed and training in design software provided.  The Maria Edgeworth museum enters the digital age!

Portumna – Discover Portumna Sustainably through ethical tourism

Positive climate action has never been so important.  The Portumna project aims to promote ethical tourism through a feature-rich website that will have a carbon footprint calculator, a ‘responsible traveller’ pledge feature, interactive maps, community forum and blog to share information.  The vision is that the website will help bring about meaningful, measurable change and promote responsible tourism.

Skibbereen – Online tools and databases to research and discover ancestors

Many people visit West Cork to research and discover their ancestors.  The heritage centre created a platform to provide a range of free digital assets such as digital maps, videos, databases and history trails. The databases include Famine records and graveyard archives. These were linked to real-life locations providing a vibrant showcase of the heritage of Skibbereen.

Tralee – Immersive, digital self-guided tour

To promote the rich history of Tralee, a digital self-guided tour was developed.  It provides a rich and immersive experience for users and includes an interactive Story Map and audio guide featuring historic images and story-telling.  The collaborative approach, including multiple stakeholders was a key success factor.