Developing Doe Castle as a Heritage Centre Sheephaven Bay, North West Donegal Researcher: Catherine McGlade Dissertation in Partial Fulfilment of Requirements for the Degree in Master of Science in Marketing Practice August 2013 Presented to: Mr Paddy Harte Department of Business School of Business Letterkenny Institute of Technology Disclaimer 1 I hereby certify that this material, which I now submit in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Science in Marketing Practice is entirely my own work and has not been obtained from the work of any other, except any work that has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. Signed: _____________________________________________ Disclaimer 2 I agree that this thesis may be used by Letterkenny Institute of Technology for teaching purposes on future Masters Programmes. Signed: _________________________________________________ Abstract Doe Castle a National Monument has been considered by many people in the local community as a built heritage that has potential to be further developed in the interest of tourism and for the benefit of the local people in Sheephaven Bay. It is acknowledge that heritage can bring economic benefits to rural regions, and the development of Doe Castle into a heritage centre would heighten the profile of this area and bring greater tourism acclaim by further enhancing the offerings to visitors that visit or may consider visiting County Donegal and this region. This dissertation focuses on the understanding of heritage, the features of a heritage tourist, the importance of management and sustainability and how marketing plays an overall role in the development of a heritage site. A further focus is on the importance of stakeholders working together in partnership, understanding that there can be conflicts within this partnership that must be managed if a successful outcome is to be achieved. An extensive study was carried out on relevant literature and practical research was implemented, the latter involved three methods of primary research, a survey, semi-structure in-depth interviews and focus group interview. The survey findings gave an overview of the profile, perceptions and views of visitors that visited Glenveagh National Park, a destination that is both a natural reserve and a place of heritage, it provided an understanding of the relationship that the heritage/cultural tourist has with the visited site and reinforced opinions taken from the literary review. It also confirmed that when a site is managed well visitors return again and promote the site by word of mouth a most powerful marketing tool. Appreciating the views of the various stakeholders both the government bodies that have charge of the site and the local communities have shown that small steps will be necessary over several years to achieve the full potential development of Doe Castle. The willingness of all the stakeholders to consider development ideas and work together was a positive finding. The conclusion shows that the stakeholders including potential visitors will gain positively from the development of Doe Castle. The government bodies directly in charge of the site will benefit from further conservation/preservation, the local community from extra visitors and another local attraction, and Failte Ireland from an improved offering in Sheephaven Bay which will further enhance Donegal’s future as a vibrant tourist destination. I If sustainability is to be achieved at the site it will require a good story, excellent management, the right target market and overall marketing. It was discovered that some visitors to Glenveagh National Park were interested in Doe Castle and the Park would be willing to partner with the site in the future. The recommendations are to bring together members of the local community and various government bodies interested in this project. Create a long term vision for Doe Castle with short term gains along the way that will help advance the project gradually and sustainably. Gain understanding of the target market that would suit the site and how they can be reached and further investigate similar sites in Ireland or abroad and learn from their experiences. II Acknowledgements I am grateful to the individuals and organisations who have participated both directly and indirectly in this dissertation and I wish to formally acknowledge and thank them. This was a journey of exploration and discovery on a subject that I felt had great possibilities. The positivity of all the people involved has given me great hopes that developing Doe Castle as a heritage centre in the future is attainable. I owe special gratitude to the following: All the MSc in Marketing Practice lecturers and fellow students who provided support and friendship throughout the past year, in particular, Ms Helen Donoghue who guided me with her expert knowledge on many topics in relation to marketing that led me to a greater understanding of what needed to be considered and achieved, and her invaluable help in recording the focus group views. The library staff at the Letterkenny Institute of Technology, who without their help in locating various books, journals and their valued advice throughout the year would have made the success of this project unachievable. Mr Paddy Harte, my dissertation supervisor, for giving me guidance on how to proceed and complete this task and his great work in ‘The Gathering 2013’, which makes him highly qualified to understand the value of tourism in the county. To all the people I interviewed either face to face or by telephone and to especially those at Glenveagh National Park for allowing me to carry out the survey on their visitors. Particularly Dave Duggan, Regional Manager National Parks and Wildlife and Tres Conaghan, Supervisor of Visitors Services, for their invaluable time and encouragement that they gave. A note of appreciation to Frank Shalvey the Principal Officer of National Monuments OPW and Fionnbarr Moore Senior Archaeologist of National Monument Services for being positive towards the project. A special thanks to my husband Dermot for being patient, considerate and encouraging throughout the year and especially during the period of writing this dissertation. Also to my four children Sarah Jayne, Laura Anne, Bernard and Alice who give me great joy and a willingness to seek out new adventures. Catherine McGlade August 2013 III Table of Contents List of Abbreviation ix List of Figures x List of Tables xii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Research Focus 1 1.3 Overall Research Aim and Individual Research Objectives 1 1.4 Value of this Research 2 1.5 Outline Structure 3 Chapter 2 Literary Review 5 2.1 Introduction 5 2.2 Cultural Heritage Tourism 5 2.3 Heritage Tourists 6 2.4 The Many Layers of Management 7 2.4.1 Interpretation of the heritage site 7 2.4.2 Authenticity 8 2.4.3 Financial 9 2.4.4 Sustainable management at a heritage site 9 2.4.5 Development 10 2.4.5.1 Developing Cultural Tourism Attractions 12 2.4.6 Stakeholders working together holistically 12 2.4.7 Local Community 13 2.4.8 Management 13 2.5 Marketing 14 2.5.1 Marketing Framework 15 IV 2.5.2 Mission, Research, Market Segmentation, Communication Mix, Environmental Analysis 16 2.5.3 Unique features of marketing in cultural/heritage tourism 17 2.6 Conclusion 18 Chapter 3 Methodology 20 3.1 Introduction 20 3.2 Research Objectives 20 3.3 Research Philosophy 21 3.4 Research Approach 21 3.5 Data Collection Methods 22 3.5.1 Phase One: Survey/Questionnaire 24 3.5.2 Phase Two: Semi-Structured Interviews 25 3.5.3 Phase Three: Focus Group 26 3.6 Measurement Techniques 26 3.7 Sampling 27 3.8 Data Analysis 27 3.9 Limitation and potential problems 28 3.10 Conclusion 28 Chapter 4 Finding: Description, Analysis and Synthesis 29 4.1 Introduction 29 4.2 Phase One: Survey 29 4.2.1 Visiting Pattern 30 4.2.2 Visitor Demographic Category and Age 31 4.2.3 Visitors Preferences 32 4.2.4 Perception of facilities 33 4.2.5 Other Heritage Sites Visited 34 4.3 Phase Two: Semi-Structured Interviews 35 V 4.3.1 Role of the Government Stakeholders 35 4.3.2 Role of Local Community 36 4.3.3 Interpretation of the heritage site 37 4.3.4 Management of heritage sites 37 4.3.5 Marketing of a heritage site 38 4.3.6 Segmentation 38 4.3.7 The Marketing Mix 39 4.3.7.1 Product 39 4.3.7.2 Price 39 4.3.7.3 Place 39 4.3.7.4 Promotion 40 4.4 Phase Three: Focus Group 40 4.4.1 Local Benefits 40 4.4.2 Development Ideas 40 4.4.3 Funding ideas 41 4.5 Conclusion 41 Chapter 5 Conclusions and Recommendations 42 5.1 Introduction 42 5.2 Clarifying the position held by National Monuments and the OPW on the possible future of Doe Castle. 42 5.2.1 Highlighting the importance of all stakeholders’ involvement in the development of the site. 42 5.2.2 Identifying the stakeholder’s positions and how they can influence the project 43 5.3 Discerning what the visitor’s expectations are at a heritage site, through comparison with another site. 43 5.4 Exploring the extent that marketing research, segmentation and targeting are used by other OPW visitor sites. 44 VI 5.4 a) Market Research 44 5.4 b) Segmentation and targeting 44 5.4.1 Determining if the visitor that visits Glenveagh National Park would be a likely target market for Doe Castle. 44 5.5 Understanding the views on sustainable management by the official bodies. 45 5.5.1 Investigating the type of management structure needed to progress the development.