We’re delighted to officially launch DATA4RURAL in Ireland, with our work rooted in The Food Hub and the wider rural regions where tourism, food, culture, and community are deeply connected.
What DATA4RURAL Is About
DATA4RURAL is about making digital and data skills practical, relevant, and usable for rural businesses — not abstract, not overwhelming, and not “tech for tech’s sake”. It focuses on helping rural food and tourism businesses make better use of the data and information they already have — in a way that’s practical, manageable, and actually useful. Not complicated. Not technical. And definitely not about adding more pressure to already busy businesses.
Why DATA4RURAL Matters for The Food Hub, Drumshanbo and Rural Ireland
Across rural Ireland, small food and tourism businesses are doing incredible work. They’re welcoming visitors, telling local stories, producing high-quality food, hosting events, and keeping local economies alive — often with very small teams and very limited time.
At the same time, they’re dealing with very real pressures:
- strong seasonality and unpredictable demand
- rising energy, transport, and input costs
- increasing expectations to be “digital”
- limited access to tailored training that fits rural realities
DATA4RURAL focuses on building everyday digital and data skills for rural businesses. The aim is simple: to help people understand what information matters for their business, and how to use it to make clearer decisions.
At The Food Hub and in towns like Drumshanbo, businesses generate useful information every single day: how busy it is, when footfall drops, which events work best, what visitors respond to, where people are coming from, and how local supply chains connect.
The Need — and the DATA4RURAL Opportunity — for Rural Tourism Businesses
In 2024, Ireland welcomed about 6.2 million overseas visitors, up roughly 7 % on 2023, spending an estimated €5.7 billion (excluding airfares) — showing tourism’s continued economic strength.
National research consistently shows that the vast majority of Irish tourism and food businesses are micro-enterprises, many based outside urban centres, and often family-run.
Digital tools are already part of daily life — booking systems, social media, card machines, event listings — but the data those tools generate is rarely used in a joined-up or meaningful way. Not because people don’t want to, but because there’s rarely the time or support to step back and make sense of it.
Ireland ranks above the EU average for basic digital skills, with around 73 % of people having at least basic skills, which is higher than the EU average, but there are still gaps especially in more advanced digital capabilities that small businesses need to make better use of data.
https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/latest/briefs/ireland-snapshot-digital-skills
Despite relatively strong skills overall, a survey of Irish small business owners found many feel out of their depth with digital technologies — nearly 46 % said they lacked confidence with digital tech, and around 71 % saw a clear digital skills gap in their sector.
https://leanbpi.ie/small-business-owners-out-of-their-depth-on-tech-skills-critical-for-survival/
Rural SME ecosystems are heavy on micro-businesses that often juggle everything without dedicated tech support or training, meaning practical, contextual data skills could make a real difference.
For many businesses, that information stays scattered — in notebooks, phones, tills, inboxes, and social media accounts — or gets lost altogether.
What DATA4RURAL Will Deliver
DATA4RURAL starts from business realities and helping them;
- focus on the information that actually helps them
- use tools they already have
- plan better for busy and quiet periods
- make decisions that support long-term sustainability
The project isn’t about making business more complicated, using high-tech systems or complex software. It’s about providing education in using what is relevant and useful, building confidence, clarity, and practical skills that fit rural life.
Over the course of the project, DATA4RURAL will create:
- practical training designed specifically for rural food and tourism businesses
- an open online learning space that people can dip in and out of
- simple tools and guidance for using data without specialist knowledge
- opportunities for peer learning between rural regions
- a growing European network focused on strengthening rural tourism through better decision-making
Everything will be tested with real businesses, refined based on feedback, and shared openly — so it can continue to be used long after the project finishes.
Our Role in Ireland and What Comes Next
We’re proud to bring DATA4RURAL to Leitrim and rural Ireland, working alongside food hubs, producers, and tourism businesses to turn everyday information into something genuinely useful. Right now, we’re engaging in discussions and in the research phase — talking to businesses, running surveys, and shaping the project around what people actually need, not what sounds good on paper.
