Fáilte Ireland announced on July 13th that it was teaming up with cycling specialists Ride Wild to launch the Wild Atlantic Way Cycle Sportif, a series of bi-annual cycling events along the coastal route (from Kinsale in West Cork to Muff in Donegal). The idea is to promote the Wild Atlantic Way as a cycling destination internationally and domestically, as well as attract visitors across the full length of the route during off-season months. An inaugural ride will take place along the route from September 13th to 29th  and a further two events per year will take place from 2018 to 2020. Fáilte Ireland are planning to invest e650,000 in the initiative between now and 2020, with the ambition to grow the average number of cyclists per day from 400 in 2018 to 1,000 per day in 2020. It is hoped that, if the initiative becomes popular, it will become self-financing. Research indicates that the average cycling tourist spends an average of five nights attending a sportif event. Nearly 400 official cycling sportifs take place in Ireland each year, along with many more local events, and the number of events is growing each year. The location of a sportif is a key driver for this type of visitor and research has revealed that 81% of potential sports tourists would identify the Wild Atlantic Way as having a strong (45%) or very strong (36%) appeal for them. “If we can meet our visitor targets, we estimate that the Cycle Sportif could generate over e13m and up to 50,000 bed nights,” says Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly. “Importantly, we will also be generating significant visitor activity in off-season months which will help businesses stay open longer. This is a real bonus for areas that are outside the traditional tourist hot spots.”