CLARE’S premier tourist attraction “is no longer family friendly”.
A hike in admission fees to the Cliffs of Moher was slammed by Cllr Gerry Flynn (IND) this week. The Miltown Malbay native travelled to the 14km seacliffs with his grandson recently and admitted that he was far from pleased with the experience. “For the two of us in the car it cost €24. It is a rip off and not what I’d consider family friendly”.
With 1.6m visitors in 2019, the Cliffs was Ireland’s most visited natural attraction. Cllr Flynn was annoyed with the current approach, “I grew up in West Clare, my wife comes from just over the hill by the Cliffs, it was a regular haunt for us as young people. It has been overly commercialised, it is no longer family friendly”.
Acknowledging that Clare County Council were responsible for the tourist attraction, the Shannon representative said, “it needs sensitive management and to be more family friendly”. Admission fees as per Cllr Flynn’s remarks have doubled with the entrance fee costing €6 in 2015. Online bookings for the Cliffs vary are billed at €7 for adults, senior citizens and students with family passes from €14.
In 2019, the Cliffs of Moher Experience site employed 170 people, 45 percent of which were full-time. This included direct employment of 75 staff (44 permanent and 31 seasonal) at an estimated total annual employment cost of €5m. According to the Council, 90 percent of the staff are located within a 20 mile radius of the Cliffs.
Flynn’s comments came following a proposal from Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG), Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) and Cllr Liam Grant (GP) for the Council “to implement its commitment to the development of a sustainable host community pillar within the Cliffs of Moher 2040 Strategy”. They asked for traffic management to be addressed, to enhance the long-term direct and indirect employment and benefits of tourism in the area.
Director of Rural Development, Leonard Cleary noted that councillors recently visited the Cliffs of Moher for a presentation on the strategy and attended a workshop. He expressed confidence that all of the existing economic benefits of the Cliffs would be “significantly increased” as the strategy is developed.
He referenced 2019 figures which showed the Cliffs generated an estimated overall income of €18m from visitor spend in the local economy. “Fáilte Ireland research suggests that overseas holidaymakers on average spend €96 per day and domestic overnight visitors spend €74 per day. Applied to visitors to the Cliffs of Moher Experience this would generate an estimated total economic impact of €141m. While it’s acknowledged there is economic leakage outside of County Clare, there is still a considerable level of indirect to the county”.
Speaking on Monday, Cllr Garrihy detailed that the “vast majority” of submissions to the Cliffs Strategy to-date was not reflective of the local community. He commended the extensive process of engagement followed by the Council but stressed the opportunity that was knocking on their door. “We’re quite unique, we can use natural attractions. The challenge for us is that our beautiful attractions not located in the centre of our towns and villages, they’re on the Wild Atlantic Way”.
A traffic management plan is “badly needed,” Cllr Killeen flagged. He emphasised that the Burren was “not a playground, it is a living area where people, work, live and carry out their chores”. He noted the Cliffs was the jewel in the crown of the Wild Atlantic Way but was causing bottlenecks in the locality.
“It could be viewed as a local issues to North Clare but ultimately, the Cliffs of Moher is an economic driver for the whole county,” Cllr Shane Talty (FF) stated.
