Economic Value of Ireland's Historic Environment - The Heritage ...

(a) its natural location;
(b) proximity of scenic and other attractions, including Croagh Patrick and Clew Bay;
(c) conscious development of the town and the House as a visitor attraction;
(d) spin-off investment in other necessary infrastructure, both public and private, including
accommodation and streetscape.
Running through these factors is arguably a significant “soft” element of cooperation between the distinct
local players, rather than any one central player, i.e. there is close cooperation between public, private
and voluntary bodies such as the County and Town Councils, Fáilte Ireland, Regional Fisheries Board,
FÁS, Westport House, Chamber of Commerce, Tidy Towns Committees, residents associates, schools,
tourism organisations and accommodation providers around the common shared mission of protecting
and promoting the town as an attractive tourism and visitor destination, coupled with a shared awareness
that its heritage and visual appearance are key aspects of this. This kind of cooperation is evident in
winning the National Tidy Towns competition three times over the last decade (2001, 2006, 2008), and a
range of other similar awards.
7.5 Other Socio-Economic Benefits
Generally the town‟s heritage base and its tourism and visitor economies are closely inter-twined and
feed off each other, and therefore cause and effect are difficult to disentangle. For example, Westport‟s
tourism business would most likely not have developed without the existence of the House and the
planned town, but on the other hand both would be more difficult to preserve were it not for the economic
benefits of the tourism visitor business and accommodation base. “Joint achievements”, therefore,
include: the conservation and preservation of heritage; a high level of community and voluntary activity in
the town; a high level and quality of its accommodation base; its diversification into new activity-based
tourism markets in recent years; the retention of a relatively high standard of living in the town, and
avoidance of the development of severe deprivation blackspots; an ongoing demonstration effect from
Westport to other Irish towns which have aimed to emulate its success and development processes;
attractiveness of the town for other types of investment also, e.g. GMIT, Allergen (the latter employs c
1,000 people in Westport).
Westport‟s development in recent decades can therefore be seen as an example of a distinctive heritage
town creating an ambience which is attractive to residents, investment and tourists and knock-on leisure
activities, and which have a significant positive spill-over effect on the wider area.
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