Killarney Visitor Survey 2010

The DIT-ACHIEV Model for the Sustainable Management of Tourism has been developed by the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, Technological University Dublin and is endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency and Fáilte Ireland. It explores six areas of investigation - Administration, Community, Heritage, Infrastructure, Enterprise and Visitor. The purpose of piloting this DITACHIEV model in Killarney is to test its use with the objective to refine and adjust its methodology, so that it can be applied in any Irish tourism destination. Early indications are that The Model will provide the Irish tourism industry with a valuable tool for making its product and management far more sustainable. In addi t i on to data such as e n v i r o nme n t al me as u r eme n t s , information on water, waste, energy, transport, examination of local cultural, environmental and employment statistics, the model requires the undertaking of three dedicated surveys: • A Resident Survey • A Business Survey • A Visitor Survey A survey of residents was undertaken at the outset of the year and the Business Survey was run during the latter part of the summer months. With the support of local volunteers and students, this yearlong Visitor Survey has taken place throughout Killarney. This report presents the main findings of 659 Visitor Surveys that were conducted between Nov 2009 and Oct 2010. The support of the surveyors is gratefully acknowledged, and it is hoped that the findings presented in this report will lead to much discussion and self analysis by the tourism industry in Killarney.