Unlocking the huge tourism potential of East Cork

Irish Examiner

08-05-2025

These are heady days for East Cork.
In its prime position as a key element of Fáilte Ireland's five-year Destination and Experience Development Plan, the region is central to a major tourism project which will position Cork Harbour and its immediate surrounds as 'a must-visit destination' aimed at encouraging visitors to increase their stay and spend in the region.
Fáilte Ireland, in partnership with Cork County Council, Cork City Council and Port of Cork, are united in positioning the area as a world-class tourism destination and which will support the sustainable development of the area.
'The Cork Harbour Tourism Plan aims to unlock Cork Harbour's huge potential in attracting both domestic and international visitors to the region,' says Brian O' Flynn, Head of Ireland's Ancient East at Fáilte Ireland. 'The plan will be key in enhancing the unique tourism offering in Cork harbour to encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more which will bring significant benefits for the local economy and community and the wider region.'
Brian O' Flynn Head of Ireland's Ancient East at Fáilte Ireland.
The Cork Harbour area has significant untapped tourism potential as the second largest natural harbour in the world, home to a population of 72,000 people and 30,000 jobs which co-exist uniquely within an area of exceptional beauty.
The scope of the plan will identify opportunities to ensure the area becomes a world-class visitor destination, ultimately resulting in increased economic benefits to Cork Harbour and the wider East Cork area.
'East Cork and the harbour already have significant tourism assets, outperforming the attractions offered in other regions, including Ballymaloe, Midleton Distillery, Cobh's Titanic, Spike Island, Fota Wildlife Park. The kind of visitor numbers these locations already enjoy would be the envy of other destinations.
"The challenge we have, from a domestic point of view, is that East Cork is perceived as more of a day trip destination, rather than an overnight or weekend destination. That is partly due to people not seeing East Cork being as connected to Cork City — as it actually is. The harbour and East Cork can be a playground, with the city operating as an accommodation base.'
Green lighting a playground for local and visitor
By identifying opportunities to increase visitor numbers for the area, the plan will identify a 'focal point' for Cork's maritime story, improving accessibility, capacity and visitor experiences, among other elements.
The initiative also outlines a significant sustainable tourism development opportunity for the area, including recommendations to improve transport, analysis of sustainable transport initiatives and encouraging a greater spread of visitors throughout the area.
This will be helped with the development of existing greenways, blueways and transport links, aiming to increase the accessibility of the harbour by boosting land and sea linkages between the city, the harbour and its surrounding areas.
Geese enjoy the early morning sunshine near Midleton, Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan
'We want to ensure that it is a project that benefits both visitor and local, a place where people want to spend time,' says Mr O'Flynn. 'This is a destination that incorporates a marina, a harbour plus a docklands, and, if we flash forward five or ten years, an area where anyone will be able to walk from City Hall in the city centre right out to the marina through high-end amenities and natural assets along the way.
"If we want to be a harbour destination, we need to develop more public access points to fully avail of all that this incredible area can potentially offer. Essentially, the docklands play a key role in the overall plan of developing the harbour and how the public has access it.'
Some of the major projects in the action plan over the next five years include the potential for: re-opening the Roches Point Lighthouse to visitors; a coastal pathway linking Ballycotton to Cork Harbour; incorporating the Courtyard at Fota House for future events; increasing the frequency of access to Spike Island; and the development of a national maritime visitor experience at Haulbowline Island.
The plan will support the development of new opportunities for visitors to experience and engage with the potential of the world's second largest natural harbour to offer a unique world class tourism experience that not only showcases a commitment to sustainable development but also underscores the rich maritime heritage and untapped beauty of the region.
'We need to grasp just how much the coming generation will demand sustainability as part of their travel plans,' concludes Mr O'Flynn. 'On a broader scale, sustainability is something that we, as a population, do not fully have our heads around yet.
"Twenty per cent of visitors to Cork at present are arriving via sustainable transport methods, and we need to take advantage of the sustainable transport networks that we have and can be developed. There is a real opportunity for us now to position Cork, East Cork and Cork Harbour as showcases for sustainable tourism into the future.'