New app to encourage more cycle tourism in Ireland

22 Apr 2014

A new app from Cycle Ireland, a website catering to cycle tourism in Ireland, is aiming to bring maps and directions for some of the country’s best routes onto smartphones.

The Cycle Ireland App features 100 of the most scenic routes in the country, passing many of Ireland’s top attractions and covering 6,800 km.

For a better overall idea of what there is to see on particular routes, photos, videos and route descriptions can be viewed on the Cycleireland.ie website and on the app, as well.

As a country with a strong cycling tradition and success such as Stephen Roche, Bord Fáilte is actively targeting a potential market of 20m cycle tourists and it is estimated about 170,000 cycling enthusiasts and tourists will visit Ireland’s countryside this year.

The app’s creator, James Harrington, sees a huge opportunity ahead for Irish tourism.

“The popularity of cycling is exploding in Ireland. Visitors who cycle here spend €200m per annum mainly in rural areas. The Giro d’Italia Big Start in May will showcase our countryside to millions of cycling fans across Europe.

“Our huge network of back roads is a superb cycling resource but is under-utilised as they can be difficult to find and navigate. We need to get the message out to the key markets of the UK, Germany, France and the Netherlands, online and on mobile, just what is available to cyclists here. We want to create millions of memorable cycling trips with the Cycle Ireland app.” 

For cyclists keen to get their hands on the app, it’s available for both iPhone and Android for €4.99, while a free version with four routes, Cycle Ire Lite, is also available.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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