Picture a 'dive into Waterford'

A new tourism campaign has been launched in the south east titled ‘Dive Into Waterford’.

The initiative, which was launched by Visit Waterford, is encouraging visitor to uncover the full depths of the Déise county and discover things they may not have know about or be aware of.

As part of the campaign, Visit Waterford has created six different ‘Dive In’ itineraries for visitors to choose from including visits to pretty coastal villages like Dunmore East, Ardmore and An Rinn, along with stop-offs in destination towns like Tramore, Lismore and Dungarvan with Waterford, Ireland’s oldest city, being a centre-piece.

The Visit Waterford team are also offering visitors a chance to soak up some local culture en-route with the launch of an all-Waterford summer playlist on Spotify. 

Speaking at the campaign launch, Mayor of Waterford City and County, Councillor Joe Conway said: “Ireland’s oldest city has enjoyed a range of award wins, from the ‘Best Place to Live’ to, ‘Best Place to Visit’ and more, so now, it is time for Waterford to shine and for visitors, now is the time to visit and take the opportunity to take a ‘dive into’ all that Waterford has to offer.” 

“We are so fortunate to enjoy a 147km unspoilt coastline, backed by two mountain ranges and the stunning Waterford Greenway connecting it all,” said Cllr Conway.

“There has always been a date in the future when the culmination of enormous investment in Waterford’s tourism product would arrive, and I believe that date has now arrived.” Meanwhile, Visit Waterford Director, Mealla Fahey, said the range of itineraries that was developed for visitors will enable them to explore the county’s heritage, coastline, food, natural wilderness and activities along with “Waterford’s luxury offering”.

“We will be pushing this campaign through a wide range of promotional activities, which will include marketing campaigns, publicity, social media and digital marketing, as well as working with the tourism industry bodies and the travel trade overseas to further highlight destination awareness and drive visitor numbers to Waterford,” said Ms Fahey.

The Chairperson of Visit Waterford, Sara Dolan was also very enthusiastic about the initiative.

“Waterford has seen some significant international media attention with its place on the ‘Best Places to Visit 2024’, New York Times list and its ‘Top Tip’ recommendation from Conde Nast Traveller and being awarded European City of Christmas,” she said.

“We know that those wins and features have driven even more media coverage and thus visitor interest,” she added.

She said the organisation’s website traffic had increased by 250 per cent so far this year and within the hotel sector, bookings are already ahead this year, especially for Christmas break bookings as visitors plan for Winterval 2024.

Visit Waterford also unveiled a brand new social media-based photography competition as part of its ‘Dive Into Waterford’ campaign.

The competition is aimed at being a photographic celebration of Waterford and people are encouraged to discover their creativity and upload photos to social media using the #DiveIntoWaterford hashtag.

Speaking about the competition Ms Dolan said: “It is such a picture-perfect destination and we know that there are a great deal of wonderful photographic opportunities for people to dive into capturing images of our historic features, our coastline, our fantastic food, the wilds of Waterford and more.” 

To enter the competition people have to post a photograph to Instagram, X or Facebook and when doing so tag @VisitWaterford.

They must use the #DiveIntoWaterford hashtag and post their image before August 31. Entries will also be accepted by through email to photos@visitwaterford.com 

Finalists will be selected at the beginning of September and will be asked to submit a high-resolution copy of their image via email, along with their details, and the top 30 images will be posted on Visit Waterford's Facebook page for a public voting period through which the overall winning image will be selected.

In addition, the finalists’ images will be hosted in a public exhibition at Mount Congreve Gardens in Waterford in September. The finalists will be invited to an event at which the winner will be announced. The exhibition will also be hosted online at VisitWaterford.com

“The winner will also be awarded a wonderful overnight stay at Dooley’s Hotel in Waterford plus a day out for themselves and three of their friends so that they can dive into all that Waterford has to offer,” said Ms Nolan.

They winner also be treated to a tasty and adventurous day out in Waterford beginning in the city, with four Freedom of Waterford passes from Waterford Treasures, followed by Brunch for four at The Stables Café. That will be followed with a jaunt to Tramore to enjoy access at the Lafcadio Hearn Japanese Gardens followed by an adrenalin filled afternoon at The Dunmore East Adventure Centre.

The day will culminate with a delicious dinner for four at East Pier in Dunmore East.

The ‘Dive into Waterford’ campaign is supported by Waterford City and County Council and Fáilte Ireland. For further details on the photography competition and full terms and conditions see www.visitWaterford.com