Donegal County Council is a member of the WAOH Route Project Partnership.
The “WAOH! Route” is the first, European, Sustainable Diving Route connecting world-class diving sites from the extreme south in Portugal and Spain to the far north, encompassing Ireland and the UK, which embody common European shared values and heritage.
The Route promotes Europe’s 5000km of Atlantic coastline as a unique, transnational tourism itinerary and destination for divers & eco-tourists alike.
The European Union is investing €375,000 in this project and tourism destinations and experience providers will gain access to collaborative marketing tools and capacity building to enhance their market visibility and sustainability performance.
The project is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) through the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).
The Route seeks to enhance synergy of nautical sports (diving & snorkelling and kayaking – withover 25 millionusers worldwide) with upcoming marine eco-tourism opportunities (such as notably the €2 billion, global whale watching industry).
It promotes synergy with Europe’s renowned maritime archaeology, museums, underwater tourism and gastronomy at the seaside, leading to an innovative offer of new, transnational tourism products.
The Project runs from January 1st, 2018 to December 30th, 2019 and is a joint initiative of Partners from 4 European countries (Spain, UK, Ireland & Portugal) as follows:
