Shannon Dolphin Festival

Kilrush: Europe's Dolphin Watching Capital

- An Achievable Imperative
A Vision Appraisal

By Cllr. Paul Edson and Dr. Simon Berrow
August 2003

2. Dolphin Watching in the Shannon Estuary
2.1. Background

2.3. Statistics

3.1. Scotland - 3.1.1. Moray Firth
- 3.1.2. Isle of Mull
3.2. The Fungi Phenomenon

5. Conclusion
6. Implementation Recommendations


1. INTRODUCTION
From Boom to Gloom and Back Again
It is sadly ironic for Kilrush that having striven so hard to finally establish itself as a visitor destination there should now be a significant downturn in Irish tourism. With foreign visitor numbers falling over the past two summers, now is an opportune time to evaluate whether Kilrush is maximising its tourism potential.
Great strides have been made over the past decade to develop the town's tourism infrastructure, notably Vandeleur Walled Garden and the Kilrush Creek Marina. However, these tourism products, though of a high-quality, will not in themselves protect Kilrush from the general downturn in tourism.
The axiom in marketing is that when there is a downturn in sales or demand an attempt is made to change the product or service to fit the customer, rather than change the customer to fit the product.
The aim of this Report is to:-
illustrate that Kilrush possesses a unique sustainable tourism product that the consumer clearly wants:
highlight the huge tourism potential that is waiting to be harnessed from the Shannon dolphins;
analyse the market factors that will impact on the project and to quantify the possible socio-economic benefits;
initiate the implementation of a plan of action to develop Kilrush into the premier dolphin watching destination in Europe.
This is a golden opportunity for Kilrush to establish itself as an international tourism destination and to create an unprecedented sustainable era of prosperity to the town and region.
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2. DOLPHIN-WATCHING IN THE SHANNON ESTUARY
2.1 Background
The Shannon estuary is home to Ireland's only known group of resident bottlenose dolphins, one of only six such groups in Europe. Although the number of dolphins in the estuary is thought to vary through the year, photo-identification techniques have shown that there are about 113 dolphins who are resident for some part of the year.
Although there had been tentative steps in dolphin watching out of Carrigaholt in the early 1990's it was a pilot study in 1993/4, which ascertained that there was a resident group of bottlenose dolphins in the Shannon estuary and that dolphin watching was a potentially viable industry, that marine eco-tourism took root in west Clare.

The Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF) was established in March 2000 to formulate and implement a plan for the development of sustainable dolphin watching in the Shannon region. In October 2002 the SDWF became a Registered Charity.
The SDWF Steering Committee consists of representatives from Shannon Development, the National Parks & Wildlife Service, the Marine Institute, Clare County Council, Kilrush Town Council, Carrigaholt Development Association and the Kilrush Chamber of Commerce. It employs a Project Manager to co-ordinate its activities.
The Foundation's objectives are:
to maintain the dolphin population in a favourable conservation status
to raise public awareness of dolphins and the marine environment
to increase the volume and value of dolphin watching visitors
to integrate dolphin watching with eco-tourism activities in the region
The potential of dolphin watching for the area was highlighted in the 1999 study 'Special Interest Marine Tourism in the West Clare Peninsula', which was commissioned by the Marine Institute, Shannon Development and Clare County Council. The study stated that:-
gives the area a distinctive product, not shared by other marine locations
presented a unique opportunity and was of international significance as a tourism resource;
could provide an overall marketing image around which other related attractions could be promoted.
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2.2. Developments
Two significant resource developments got the go-ahead this year which will have beneficial effects for the promotion of dolphin watching in the town.
The SDWF was successful in an application to LEADER for funding to provide educational and information resources at its base at the Scattery Island Centre at Merchants Quay. It is planned to have reconstructed skeletons and models of whales, dolphins and birds on display, together with a number of other resources such as information boards, posters, books and guides on the wildlife that can be found in the region.
Also, this year the SDWF received funding from Vodafone to establish a system of transmitting the dolphin vocalisation, as they move around the estuary, back to the Scattery Island Centre by using the mobile phone network. It is hoped to have the system deployed by Spring 2004 and following trials fully operational in 2005. This will be a unique facility in Ireland and Europe which will significantly enhance the present boat-based dolphin watching experience.
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2.3. Statistics
The Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF), at the request of the National Parks & Wildlife Service, are responsible for co-ordinating the monitoring of the dolphin watching tour boat operators. This requires a record of each dolphin watching trip to be submitted to the SDWF, from which an Annual Report is produced.
This information provides accurate statistics on all the dolphin watching trips made during the year, from which trends and predictions can be made.

Between 1995 and 1998 the number of dolphin watching trips was steady at around 200 carrying 2,500 people each year.
There was a 60% increase in the numbers dolphin watching in 1999 with 252 trips carrying 4,000 people.
In 2000 two new boats were brought into service and this resulted in 429 trips with a 300% increase in dolphin watchers, rising to 12,000 people. 2001 saw a further large rise of 25%, bringing the number to 15,000 people with 473 trips made.
In 2002, with unfavourable weather conditions, the number of dolphin watching trips decreased by 5 though the number of people carried was approximately the same - 15,000, as only the larger boats continued to operate.

It is estimated that dolphin watching in west Clare was worth €190,000 in direct revenue and generated over €700,000 total expenditure in the area in 2002.
The success rate of observing dolphins on boat trips in the Shannon estuary is 96%.
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3. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Whilst it is possible to go whale/dolphin watching in 10 countries in Europe of these only Spain, Iceland, Norway, U.K. and Ireland have a significant, developed cetacean-watching tourism industry. The most relevant and comparable, to what is proposed in this report, is the burgeoning marine tourism/dolphin watching industry in Scotland and the large tourism business that has been built around Fungi, the bottlenose dolphin in Kerry.
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3.1. Scotland
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3.1.1. Moray Firth
With Inverness, the Capital of the Highlands, on its shore and situated at the head of Loch Ness in north-east Scotland the Moray Firth has a resident group of bottlenose dolphins, comparable in size to that found in the Shannon estuary.
In 1998 it was estimated that 73,000 visitors went dolphin watching in the Moray Firth, with 9-12 boat operators taking 48,000 people dolphin watching with a further 25,000 land-based dolphin-watchers. This resulted in direct revenue from dolphin watching of over €1 million and a total economic benefit to the area worth around €5.4 million (Hoyt, 2001; Warburton, 2001).
In a survey of visitors to the Moray Firth in 1997, 28% said that the sole reason for their visit was the presence of dolphins with another 14% stating it had been a factor. 16% of visitors said that they had stayed an extra night because of the presence of dolphins. 93% of all visitors who had gone dolphin watching said that they would take the trip again (Arnold, 1997).
The UK Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society organised a Moray Firth Dolphin Adoption Scheme to which twenty thousand people signed up to. When surveyed 86% of the people who had joined the scheme said they would try to visit the area to see their adopted dolphin, which was estimated to be worth an additional 21,000 bed nights with a resulting overall expenditure of £720,000. The scheme served the dual purpose of raising awareness of dolphin and conservation issues and also providing a major economic boost to the area (Arnold, 1997).

3.1.2. Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull is an isolated inner Hebridean island off the west coast of Scotland with 2,700 inhabitants and reached only by car ferry. Around 250,000 visitors make the trip across to the island each year.
In a 1999 profile of visitors to the Isle of Mull it was found that most were middle- aged, affluent and well-educated with 42% considering that seeing wildlife was the highlight of their visit Warburton, 2001).
Although less than a quarter of the visitors to the island bought wildlife-related souvenirs the average tourist spend on whale and dolphin souvenirs was still €19.
, the island's main village, attracted 14,000 visitors in the first four months after opening in 1998. The Centre, which is open all year-round, employs one full-time and three part-time staff. It sells locally-made crafts and other items which between January-July 1999 generated sales worth more €8,000 (Hoyt, 2001).

3.2. The Fungi Phenomenon
Fungi, Dingle's solitary dolphin, has been drawing huge numbers of visitors to west Kerry for 17 years. Almost entirely because of Fungi Ireland had the second highest number of whale/dolphin-watchers in Europe in 1998, behind the United Kingdom. This resulted in $1.3 million being spent directly on going to see Fungi with a total expenditure of $7 million generated in the Dingle area (Hoyt, 2001).
A survey that was carried out in 1999 showed that 60% of overseas visitors had heard of Fungi before their trip. 5% of tourist surveyed stated that their main reason for visiting Ireland was Fungi (Berrow and Whooley, 1999). Given that the estimated number of visitors who went to see Fungi in 1999 was 200,000 this would equate to around 10,000 international tourists who were visiting Ireland to see one dolphin.

4. WHALE/DOLPHIN-WATCHING TRENDS AND BENEFITS
In 1991 4 million people went whale/dolphin watching worldwide, by 1998 this had risen to over 9 million people.
The estimated income generated from whale/dolphin watching rose from $318 million in 1999 to $1,049 million in 1998, an average annual increase of 18.6%. In 2001 it was estimated that this had risen to $1,253 million.
Whale/dolphin watching has transformed many of 492 communities worldwide who are involved in this tourism, not just through the socio-economic benefits but also by providing a sense of community and considerable local pride (Hoyt, 2001).
In most of the 87 countries and territories in which whale/dolphin watching occurs the majority taking part are foreign visitors.
In 1998 4.3 million people went whale/dolphin watching in the USA.
In four years Iceland's whale-watching industry grew annually by 251%, from just 200 people in 1994 to 30,030 in 1998.
As well as being of special interest to nature tourists whale/dolphin watching also has its own dedicated participants and is of interest to the general visitor.
Studies have shown that whale/dolphin-watchers in general tend to be more affluent than the average tourist (Parsons et al, 2003).
The successful development of a dolphin-based tourism strategy would:-
create a climate of confidence conducive to attracting investment into the tourism sector of the town;
develop a subliminal connection between the association of dolphins with nature and friendliness and Kilrush:
portray a positive image of town, enhancing its attractiveness and desirability as a place to relocate to.

5. CONCLUSION
Whilst the concept of developing an area-wide tourism marketing strategy for west Clare is laudable, without the support of a local permanent, dedicated structure the essential commitment from the local community quickly dissipates.
An alternative to continuing to attempt to develop a regional ecotourism marketing strategy for west Clare would be to firstly create a network of local initiatives in the area with subsequent linkage between them.
The creation of a cohesive and committed core group of service providers and stakeholders, sharing the same vision and goals, is essential in driving any tourism initiative. Experience shows that the likelihood of this being achieved is on a micro, not a macro scale.
The Kilrush Chamber of Commerce has proven, through its successful promotion of the BES Advanced Factory, that it possesses the vision and ability to develop and nurture new enterprise in the town. The unique product that the Shannon estuary's bottlenose dolphins provide offers the Chamber a chance to raise the area's tourism industry to a new, higher plain.
The Chamber, by assuming the role as promoter and driving force of the `Dolphin Capital' project, can become the catalyst to ensure local participation and ownership of the project whilst providing credible and influential leadership.
Through the input of Shannon Development, the work done by the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation and the enterprise of tour boat operators a sustainable dolphin watching industry is now in place in west Clare.
The challenge, in the competitive, fast-growing and highly-lucrative international whale/dolphin watching tourism industry is to:-
develop the concept of the Shannon estuary as the premier location for dolphin watching in Europe;
establish Kilrush as the `Gateway to the Shannon dolphins';
provide the necessary land-based facilities required to weather-proof the project and extend the tourism season from April through to October;
extend the length of stay in the area by linking with complimentary tourism products.

The actions recommended to meet this challenge should be regarded as the starting
point of the process and not the definitive programme.
The success of the project will be entirely dependent upon the grassroots support from the Kilrush community. Local authorities and state agencies will not buy into the project unless it can be shown to have the full, long-term commitment of the business people of the town.
The defining factor on whether the project succeeds will be reliant upon the local community having sufficient confidence and commitment to invest financially. Without this local investment outside funding will not be forthcoming and the project will flounder.

6. IMPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS

• The establishment of a Kilrush Chamber of Commerce subgroup to spearhead a `bottom-up' initiative, firstly by recruiting the active support and participation of all businesses in the area in the project.
• This subgroup would liaise with other essential partners in the project - Kilrush Town Council, Shannon Dolphin & Wildlife Foundation, Clare County Council and Shannon Development and other related agencies, in the establishment of a short and long-term marketing strategy.
• A public meeting(s) to be held to ensure all-inclusive community involvement in the development of the project.
• A dolphin brand-image and logo to be adopted by Kilrush Town Council, Chamber of Commerce and other local organisations.
• Priority should be given to the development of land-based dolphin-related facilities i.e. a Dolphin/Marine Wildlife Centre, land-based viewing points, information boards, dolphin-trails and exhibitions.
• All businesses and public buildings should be encouraged to incorporate dolphin themes in the decoration and displays of their premises.
• The re-establishment of a dedicated Dolphin Festival.
• The development of an `Adopt-a-Dolphin' programme to fund further research and educational initiatives on the Shannon dolphins, which as well fostering greater awareness will draw `adopters' to come and see `their dolphins'.
• The establishment, through the Chamber of Commerce, of a co-operative group of stakeholders to develop dolphin watching-based short-break package holidays in the shoulder season.
• The Chamber initiates a marketing development fund, with matching contribution from Kilrush Town Council. Further funding should then be sought through local and corporate sponsorship and grant aid.

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7. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arnold, H (1997) The Dolphin Space Programme: The development and assessment of an accreditation scheme for dolphin watching boats in the Moray Firth. A report for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage and the EU LIFE Programme.
Berrow, S.D., Ferriss, S. (2001) The Shannon Dolphins: A guide to the bottlenose dolphins in the Shannon Estuary, Ireland. Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation.
Berrow, S.D., Holmes, B. & Kiely, O. (1996) Distribution and abundance of Bottle-nosed Dolphins Tursiops truncatus (Montagu) in the Shannon estuary, Ireland. Biology and Environment. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.
Berrow, S.D. Whooley, P. (1999) Day Trippers support the Dingle Dolphin Phenomenon. The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group Newsletter.
Hoyt, E. (2001) Whale Watching 2001: Worldwide tourism numbers,expenditure and socioeconomic benefits. International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Parsons, E.C.M., Warburton, C.A., et al (2003) Whale-watching Tourists in West Scotland. Journal of Ecotourism.
Warburton, C.A., Parsons, E.C.M., et al (2001) Whale-watching in West Scotland: Report for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.
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