Fáilte Ireland has announced that the Wild Atlantic Way is to get its own Passport.
Visitors will be issued with the special passports from May.
“The Wild Atlantic Way initiative has been a massive success for tourism growth throughout the country and in particular here in Donegal and it contributed to what was a record breaking year of tourism in 2015, with more than 8.5 million overseas visitors to Ireland,” said Minister Joe McHugh.
“I had the pleasure of visiting Gleann Cholm Cille yesterday with its breathtaking scenery of Sliabh Liag just one example of the massive attraction for the WAW. This has been one of the single greatest tourism initiatives, introduced by Fine Gael, in terms of increasing tourism and helping to grow local businesses and create local employment.
“The Wild Atlantic Way Passport will encourage repeat visits to Ireland. It will also be a great resource for tourists to find the various Discovery Points along this spectacularly beautiful route, that they might not otherwise visit, many of which are located here in Donegal.
“As they make their way along the WAW, tourists will be able to collect official stamps to prove they have been a visitor to each area. An Post and the Fáilte Ireland Tourist Information Office network will provide the distribution outlets for visitors to collect the stamps after visiting each local Discovery Point.
“Once the visitors have completed the route, which can be done over a number of years, they can apply for an official Wild Atlantic Way Passport. The passport will be seen as a collector’s item for visitors and a great keepsake of their achievement in completing the route and their time spent in Ireland, which will really boost the potential for return visits again in the future.
“Fine Gael has a Long Term Economic Plan to keep the recovery going and tourism is a huge part of this. Our Plan has three steps: more and better jobs; making work pay; and sensible investments in public services thanks to the revenue generated by increased employment.”
