The key aim of CUPHAT is to understand the value and the potential of the natural and cultural heritage in 4 coastal uplands areas – the Cambrian Mountains and Preseli Mountains in Wales, and the Wicklow Mountains and Blackstairs Mountains in Ireland – thus increasing tourist numbers and attracting new overseas visitors to these four areas.

CUPHAT seeks to do this by encouraging local communities to reflect on, and celebrate their natural and cultural heritage.

In order to achieve these goals, CUPHAT outputs will include:

• Liaising with at least 12 coastal upland communities, 3 from each of the 4 coastal upland areas, for their cooperation and participation in cultural, natural and heritage tourism
• Creating a tourism network within and between each of the 4 coastal uplands areas to promote the cultural, natural and heritage tourism found in these areas.
• Develop a marketing strategy for the coastal uplands, which will be based on common themes (e.g. geology/geomorphology, biodiversity, archaeology, and community lives).
• Promote tourist experiences, and encourage a visit to two or more coastal upland areas.
• Improve the tourist experience in 8 current cultural and natural heritage sites, making the experience more memorable.
• Identify 8 new cultural and natural heritage sites or experiences in the upland areas, by using Citizen Science activities.
• Help to create 8 additional microenterprises based on the heritage of the coastal uplands.
• Identify new kinds of tourist who would enjoy a visit to the coastal uplands.
• Increasing tourist numbers by 5%, which will encourage tourist spending in the 4 areas and thus increasing the sustainable livelihood in the uplands.
• Piloting a sustainable tourism model, which can then be used in other under-developed coastal upland areas.
• Creating four full time equivalent job roles in supported enterprises, one in each of the coastal upland areas.

As part of the CUPHAT research project, the following resources have been produced:

• External Evaluation of the Coastal Uplands: Heritage and Tourism (CUPHAT) Project – ENG | CYM I IR
• A Guidance Document to Support Regenerative Tourism – ENG | CYM | IR
• Regenerative Tourism Marketing Strategy – summary, full strategy
• Heritage Tourism: Making Waves Across the Irish Sea Symposium Report – download PDF
• Starting or Enhancing Regenerative Tourism Businesses and Community Projects – download PDF, print-friendly PDF
• Audit of pre-existing Digital Representations of Heritage Sites in the Wicklow Mountains, Blackstairs Mountains, Cambrian Mountains and Mynydd Preseli – download PDF

Additional community, education and tourist resources can be found on www.coastaluplands.com.