Dublin Web Summit visitors enjoy the surf at Strandhill as part of the Surf Summit at the weekend in Sligo

Sligo proved itself as a top visitor attraction once more at the week-end when it hosted a successful Surf Summit- an event which attracted dozens of participants from the Web Summit held in Dublin during the week.

While controversy marked the Web Summit at times in Dublin there was nothing but praise for Sligo as attendees used the week-end to unwind by taking part in various leisure pursuits the county has to offer from surfing to hiking, paddle surfing and cycling.

And, participants remarked at how accessible the city was to all of the leisure activities and with such a positive impact a spin off in tourism numbers is expected.

Also, in Sligo at the week-end, Science Week got off to a flying start with hundreds attending the popular annual event.

Attendees were hosted at The Model arts centre over the weekend, and enjoyed two nights and two days of adventure, networking, local cuisine and hospitality in Sligo hotels.

Despite earlier forecasts in the week, the calm weather on Saturday played an important role delivering good conditions for surf lessons in Strandhill by local surf schools. Stand Up Paddle sessions, kayak trips, hiking and biking also took place at Lough Gill and in North Sligo.

The west was calling for the highly influential group in attendance who were a mixture of international startups, CEOs and investors, looking to wind down after a busy week at the Web Summit conference in Dublin.

Speaking on behalf of the local event coordinators, Denise Rushe said: "Sligo is ideally placed to host events like the Surf Summit, and potentially others in the future, as we have a lot of things in our favour; there is close proximity between beaches, lakes and mountains, all within about 20 minutes of Sligo town; the facilities and infrastructure available in Sligo like venues such as The Model which hosted this event over two nights, provide unique and interesting spaces.

"The local adventure and surf community also played an important role in hosting the group throughout the weekend. We were also supported throughout the weekend, as well as in the build up to it by a local steering group, including local development agencies.

"We pitched the Sligo experience, the lifestyle, and the local community, all the reasons why we want to live and work here, and that worked."

Northwest Adventure Tours' William Britton was also pleased with how the Surf Summit played out: "The weekend was hugely successful and it was great to have Northwest Adventure Tours be part of that, hosting the biking and hiking tours on Saturday.

"For us, it meant we were able to promote not only our business, but Sligo, to a significant and influential international audience," he said.

While it's not clear yet how many deals were done in Sligo, for one man, it's already been life-changing.

"I just left a pro-windsurfer who's aiming for the Olympics and he wants to move here from Cornwall," smiled Denise.

"The Summit definitely opened Sligo up to an international audience like never before."

Some of the big tech names who made the trip to Sligo included the start-up division of IBM, 'Softlayer', which is headed up by Rosses Point woman Joanna Moran.

The Vice-President of Sales with Microsoft Peggy Johnson charmed all who met her - "she has links with Sligo and the North West," said Denise. The group departed Sligo on Sunday morning for Dublin Airport following an action packed weekend, with new friendships and business connections made.

Sligo Champion