The network operates in the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, and its member businesses employ more than 1,000 people. All members completed extensive ecotourism certification training, and they acted as the pilot group for ecotourism standards in Ireland, which led directly to the creation of Ecotourism Ireland. The network was also named one of ten winners of Lonely Planet’s “Best in Community” category in 2021.

It runs as a company limited by guarantee, and the source reports a budget of around €150,000, mostly for contractors and marketing, with members paying for the audited accounts. For other rural destinations, it shows how a member-run network can raise standards and share marketing costs among small businesses, and the model has been copied elsewhere in Ireland.

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