Study shows Discovery Points have low environmental impact

Anton McNulty

An environmental study of the two Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Points in Mayo has revealed that increased tourism at the sites has had a low impact on their surrounding environments. Downpatrick Head near Ballycastle and Keem Bay on Achill Island are the two Wild Atlantic Way Signature Discovery Points in the county, attracting thousands of visitors to each location every year.
Tom Gilligan, Director of Services with Mayo County Council told an SPC meeting on the environment last week that an Environmental Impact Study was carried out on the two locations over a two- to-three day period.
He explained the results showed that at Downpatrick Head, where over 35,000 people visited in 2015, 90 percent of the visitors had a low impact affect on the surrounding environment. That figure was even higher, 96 percent, at Keem Bay.
Over the period of the study, 238 people and 109 groups visited Downpatrick Head, and they stayed an average of 54 minutes. In relation to Keem Bay, 330 people and 113 groups visited, staying an average of 52 minutes.