By Lauren Harte

What makes the Finn Valley a good holiday destination? That’s the question being posed to local businesses and community groups as part of a major new initiative aimed at boosting tourism in the area.
Establishing tourism themes for the Finn Valley, identifying possible projects to develop and a means through which tourism can be enhanced were all on the agenda at a special workshop hosted by Donegal Co. Council and BASICC (Ballybofey and Stranorlar Integrated Community Company) in Jackson’s Hotel last Friday.
Barney Mc Laughlin, the Council’s Community and Enterprise Development Officer says the Finn Valley is an area that tourism has “skipped over and not had the impact it should have.”
The three local councilors have already set aside funds to examine tourism potential within the area and how it can be improved and enhanced. They engaged Eimear Doherty, a research student with the Council to conduct an audit on the strategy for Finn Valley tourism.
The audit has identified huge potential to develop a number of existing tourism products for the area – angling, culture, flower gardens, heritage, sport and walking. Among the tourism strengths the area boasts is a highly accessible location and a varying accommodation base to cater for up to 1000 people. However, this is overshadowed by a lack of public amenities and modern booking facilities. The findings of the workshop, which identified potential developments in the area of sport, culture through the new Butt Hall complex and the unique retail experience the area offers through McElhinney’s will be complied into a report and presented to the Council in September.
“While the Finn Valley is sandwiched between two established tourist destinations, Donegal and Letterkenny, this is not a disadvantage. The challenge for the area is how to prioritize what’s on offer to tourists as consumers. All sectors in the area need to innovate and build on what’s already there,” commented Maire Aine Gardiner from Fáilte Ireland North West.