Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar announced a significant €4 million tourism development for the capital. A fully-interactive and innovative way of telling the Dublin story, the Dubline will be a unique cultural and heritage walking trail running across the city from College Green to Kilmainham.

Tourism is currently worth over €1.5 billion to Dublin and the Dubline aims to grow this by incorporating technology, dynamic signage including wi-fi links, and dedicated branding. The goal is to give walkers an interactive, informative and enjoyable trail through the city.

The Dubline will build on €5.5 million worth of recent tourism capital investments in Meeting House Square, at Dublinia and for The Book of Kells exhibition at Trinity College. It will involve:

  further investment in visitor attractions and infrastructure, including the development of a significant new visitor meeting point along the route;
  the development of themed walking trails based around the central route;
  better access to the heritage of the area through online, mobile and traditional media;
  improving the pedestrian environment;
  high profile marketing of the Dubline to both domestic and international visitors.

The full plan for the project can be seen in a highly engaging, interactive online report at www.dubline.ie.

Minister Varadkar explained the concept behind the Dubline:

“The Dubline will tell the story of the city of Dublin, and will become a focal point for visitors. A walk from Trinity College to Kimainham takes you through centuries of Irish history, including our Viking, medieval, Norman and Anglo-Irish pasts. This new initiative will combine the ancient era with modern technology to immerse tourists in Dublin’s history.”

Minister Varadkar announced that he was providing €3.5 million in funding through Fáilte Ireland to implement the initiative but that he was also very pleased that Dublin City Council and the OPW were also on board:

“Projects like this will give Dublin a competitive edge when it comes to attracting more overseas visitors to the city. This is not only good for tourism but also for businesses, retailers and jobs in the city.”

Fáilte Ireland CEO, Shaun Quinn emphasised that Dublin is the strategic cockpit for overseas tourism to Ireland. Three quarters of overseas visitors stay in Dublin at some point in their trip to Ireland and tourism is worth over €1 billion to the local economy in Dublin.

Confirming Dublin City Council’s commitment to the project, the Lord Mayor, Andrew Montague, pointed out:

“Through one to one conversations, small group discussions and participative workshops, I am very pleased that the collective insights of so many people have been gathered together. This process has involved a broad range of participants drawn from many different spheres – heritage, culture, the arts, tourism, business, academia as well as those representing the interests of the locality and I would like to thank all of those people for sharing their time, their expertise and their passion.

“Dublin City Council is delighted to be involved in the development of the Dubline, a unique branded cultural trail that will significantly enhance the visitor experience of Dublin and provide us all with an opportunity to grow and develop tourism in our city”.