ABOUT the UN Tourism INSTO Observatory
Ireland's first INSTO observatory
The Atlantic Sustainable Tourism Observatory Ireland (Observatory) hosted by Atlantic Technological University (ATU) became a member of the UN Tourism International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) in November 2023. As Ireland's first INSTO observatory, the observatory will collaborate closely with tourism destinations along the Atlantic coast, Ireland's islands, and heartlands.
INSTO is a global network of tourism observatories dedicated to monitoring the economic, environmental, and social impact of tourism at the destination level. This initiative aligns with UN Tourism's commitment to fostering sustainable and resilient growth in the tourism sector through robust measurement and monitoring practices.
The impact of tourism on climate change urgently requires the data that will inform sustainable change built on established, evidence based sustainable tourism indicators. Tourism destinations need the tools and skills to monitor their transition towards sustainable living and facilitate destination comparison, for evidence-based planning and management. The vision of the observatory is to inform the development of a suite of actions to promote sustainable tourism. The data collected will underpin sustainable tourism policy and provide a toolkit for local authorities, state agencies, managers, community and enterprises to collect valuable data to better inform planning and management of sustainable tourism destinations.
- The Atlantic coast, Ireland's islands, and heartlands supports a population of over 607,600 residents and a total area of 21,762 km2.
- The Atlantic coast, Ireland's islands, and heartlands receives over 8.9 million international and 5.8 million domestic visitors per year.
- The Cliffs of Moher which sits on the edge of the Atlantic coast is the second most visited tourist attraction in Ireland with over 1.6 million visitors per year.
- The tourism industry plays a major role in along the Atlantic coast and into the Heartlands representing a tourist spend of €2 billion (international spend) and €1.2 billion (domestic spend).
- Tourist destinations on the Atlantic coast and into the Heartlands are increasingly being called upon to tackle social, cultural, economic, and environmental challenges.
The observatory will collect data and information on a broad range of issues relevant to the impact on local economy, community and environment that will help destinations build an accurate picture of tourism in their region and help them to manage the transition to a more sustainable sector and measure and monitor the positive and negative costs and benefits that tourism has for society and the planet.