Ireland’s ‘Ancient East’ a massive boost for Boyne Valley

Fine Gael TD for Louth, Fergus O’Dowd, has welcomed the launch of ‘Ireland’s Ancient East that is on the scale of the Wild Atlantic Way for the East and South of the country.  The plan was launched today (Tuesday) by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Pascal Donohoe TD and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, in co-operation with Fáilte Ireland.

Deputy O’Dowd said the Wild Atlantic Way had managed to attract thousands of domestic and overseas visitors since it was launched and it is now expected that ‘Ireland’s Ancient East’ will have a similar impact especially for the East of the country and the Boyne Valley will have a central role.

“The trail will focus on 5,000 years of history and will include specific heritage sites. The route starts at Newgrange and the Boyne Valley and these areas will become two of the main focal points of the trail. This will be a very welcome boost for the local economy and ensure these sites receive world-wide attention.

“Fáilte Ireland’s research suggests that an initiative themed along these lines has the potential to deliver an extra 600,000 overseas visitors to the region and increase visitor revenue by almost 25% to €950m in total by 2020.

“Fine Gael in government has strongly supported the tourism sector, through the reduction of the lower rate of VAT from 13.5% to 9%. We are committed to maintaining the 9% tax rate.

“Our strategy is yielding results. Last year in Ireland there were 7.6 million visitors who came to Ireland, an increase of 8.8% on the previous year. Tourism plays a central role in our plan to spread the recovery to all corners of Ireland and this is a major boost for the Boyne Valley.

“I am confident that Ireland’s Ancient East will prove as effective and popular as the Wild Atlantic Way and will, when brought to the overseas markets by Tourism Ireland and the tourism trade, deliver significant additional numbers of visitors, revenue and jobs to the region.”