Community Engagement in Drive Tourism: Case Study of the Wild Atlantic Way

This paper presents research which investigates community engagement with the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW) drive tourism product. This drive tourism product is Ireland’s first long distance drive touring route stretching along the Atlantic coast for 2500km on the western coastline from Donegal to West Cork. Qualitative interviews were employed with a representative sample of community members along the WAW. The results presented in this paper provide a deeper insight into community engagement with drive tourism on the WAW. The research revealed a high level of approval for the project but a low level of community-integrated involvement with the WAW. The research also identified community perspectives in relation to drive tourism in Ireland. Finally this paper concludes that while there are low levels of community engagement with the drive tourism product, there is a significant level of community support for the development of this drive tourism product in Ireland