Wellness tourism in Ireland needs to move beyond spa treatments

Adventure tourism is now a rapidly growing part of Irish tourism, conference hears

The Ballyhass adventure centre in Mallow, Co Cork. The attraction is part of the growing adventure tourism sector in Ireland. File picture: O'Gorman Photography

Adventure tourism is “far from a hobby industry” now, and contributes about 12% of  annual tourist spend, a conference in Killarney has heard.

Before the pandemic, adventure tourism, from kayaking to guided hill-walking, was contributing about €1.26bn to overall tourism earnings, Ireland's Association for Adventure Tourism (IAAT) chief executive Brendan Kenny told the association's annual conference in the Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney.