The sustainable travel movement seems to be growing, with various global organisations taking stock of how to best preserve some of the world’s most unique locations as their popularity increases. One such example is Skellig Michael, a Unesco World Heritage site that has experienced a boom in visitor numbers over the past few years. Given the historic significance of the island (which saw a community of early Christian monks surviving there from the sixth to the 13th century), Irish organisations are now looking at implementing a new plan that will help preserve the island for years to come.
Skellig Michael at sunset. Image by George Karbus Photography
According to the Office of Public Works, 2019 sees agencies in Ireland preparing a new management plan for Skellig Michael for a ten-year period that aims to address the impact of tourism on the island. While the plan has not yet been concluded, its goal is to search for more sustainable options for visitor access. A public consultation is currently underway that is due to be finished in the coming months.
Jutting out from the Atlantic Ocean, the 217-metre-high rock houses monastic buildings that are perched on a peak approximately 150 metres above sea level. Weather permitting, local boats operate tours to the island for a few months of the year, and visitors must climb 618 precarious and steep steps that have been cut into the rock face. It’s also a special protection area for colonies of sea birds, including puffins, Manx shearwaters and Arctic terns.
Skellig Michael is home to various colonies of sea birds. Image by ©Andreas Juergensmeier/Shutterstock
Skellig Michael (the larger of the Skelligs) has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1996, and while it has always held a special draw, 2015 saw it receiving a drastic profile boost following the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with the island serving as the location for the closing scenes of the movie. In 2017, the next instalment (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) featured the island more prominently. That same year a report was released by An Taisce, Ireland’s national trust charity, analysing the impact filming had on Skellig Michael, as well as the wider issue of managing visitor numbers.
Ian Lumley, built environment and heritage officer for An Taisce told Lonely Planet Travel News that they would call for Skellig Michael to “attach a capacity level for visitors equal with safety and the conservation of the site. A strictly-defined limit on the number of visitors in any daily period is needed. Unesco is dealing with similar issues globally, including sites like Machu Picchu”.
The view of Little Skellig from Skellig Michael. Image by ©Stefan Missing/Shutterstock
According to Unesco, the organisation has only removed sites from the World Heritage List on a couple of rare occasions, although they did submit a set of recommendations for the site in 2007, addressing concerns such as conservation of the site, stricter regulations for boatmen operating tours to the island, and the safety of tourists that journey there.
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