2010 Report - Waterways Ireland

22their friends and family. This figure demonstrates the importance of ensuring a goodexperience on the waterways so as to encourage this positive word of mouth acrosscommunities.The research also highlights that the Waterways Ireland website is an important sourceof information about the waterways, with 15% of all users using the website to gatherinformation about the waterways. This figure increases to 26% for overseas visitors.Visit to the WaterwaysWith regard to the purpose of the visit to the waterways, 61% of users stated that theywere regular users/locals. Just over one quarter of all users were holiday makers,clearly illustrating the importance of Waterways Ireland to the Irish tourism industry andthe Irish economy. This is particularly evident for the Shannon-Erne waterway wherehalf of all visitors were holiday makers.The key motivator for using the waterways is recreation (52%) followed bybreak/holiday (21%). A wide variety of recreational activities are being undertaken onthe waterways. The top three activities being undertaken are walking (62%), privatecruiser/barge (15%) and angling (11%).Party CompositionJust over two thirds of all users visited the waterways with at least one other person,highlighting the important social dimension of the waterways. In terms of the activitiesbeing undertaken, those who are cycling, swimming and walking are most likely to bevisiting the waterways alone. When waterway users are visiting with at least one otherperson, the average party size is three visitors.Rating of the WaterwaysThe waterways are rated highly overall with 90% of all users giving the waterways avery good/good rating. The Shannon waterway is the most highly rated waterway with75% of all users giving it a very good rating. The primary reason for a positive rating ofthe waterways is the enjoyment aspect (34%) followed by the natural environment(24%) and relaxation/peacefulness (19%). The proportion of users who provided anegative rating was modest, at 4%.The proportion of users who encountered difficulties accessing the waterways or whohad difficulties in sharing the waterways was also low, at just 3% and 2% respectively.Encouragingly, these figures represent a decline in the proportion of usersencountering such difficulties when compared with 2004.When users were asked to rate the facilities along the waterways the results clearlyshow that improvements have been made since 2004, with positive ratings increasingacross the board for all facilities and in particular for both children’s playgrounds andsignage for the waterways.Awareness of Waterways IrelandThree quarters of all waterway users are aware of Waterways Ireland. This representsa nine percentage point increase in awareness, when compared with 2004. Awarenesslevels increase to a high of 89% for those using the Grand Canal. Of those who were10-031982 Waterway Users Research 2010 Report (1st December)