Rural Tourism Development in Connemara, Ireland

Since the publication of the Brundtland Report, Our common future (1987), there has been a proliferation of guidelines on sustainability in rural areas at the international level that have gradually made their way to the centre of national policies. In this paper, thematic analysis is applied to establish the current situation in relation to sustainable tourism development in Connemara, a popular rural tourism destination on the west coast of Ireland. The area is economically highly dependent on tourism, and the environment plays an important role in attracting visitors. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of organisations in the public and private sectors. The study shows little evidence of the adoption of a sustainable approach to development at the local and regional levels. A key finding was lack of evidence of networking or opportunities for locals’ participation in tourism decision-making. Furthermore, the apparent absence of strong leadership and a reactive approach to development were not conducive to sustainability.