After the last few days of exploring viewpoints/festivals/historic sites, I have been noticing that Donegal’s tourist destinations primarily attract day-trippers from around the country, rather than people from farther away. This makes sense to me in that most of the places we have seen I had never heard of prior to the trip, whereas people from Derry or Galway would have easily been exposed to these sites through word of mouth. Furthermore, I would say that the attention gathered to these sites generates revenue that stays in the town. Most sites charge for parking/admission, while viewpoints often station vendors selling coffee and a treat on the roadsides. People will often stay for lunch and a beer after their tours as well, venturing to the town’s pubs and restaurants. In that way, the community generally profits off of the 4 billion euro tourism industry of the Wild Atlantic Way. However, it also varies depending on the engagement of the town. But from what I have seen, festivals are the ultimate way for tourists to participate in multiple businesses on any given night. The Downings Festival on Sunday was a prime example. My peers and I hopped around from restaurant to gift shop to ice cream stand. Given the amount of people there, the town made a quantity of money that night, to be sure. Unfortunately, Carrigart underutilizes its geographic location and community potential, making it somewhat of a passthrough village. They do not host large festivals; they lack the infrastructure and the community organization to initiate it. There would certainly be pushback among the residents, as their purpose for living in Carrigart aligns with its people-free, stress-free nature. However, once the businesses leave or shut down due to lack of foot traffic, the village will undergo far more stress than a simple bustle of tourists. Already, Carrigart has experienced multiple business closures and the survivors are hanging on by a thread. They cannot seem to draw crowds like the comparable towns around them. I would not go so far as to say that more tourism equals guaranteed economic benefit, but in Carrigart’s case, more people and more exposure are certainly a step in the right direction. After analyzing the tourism industry across Donegal, it is clear to me that Carrigart flies under the radar. People from the larger cities flock to the more active community vibes, such as Killybegs, Downings, and Dunfanaghy.
Cashflow in Carrigart
