Killarney plays host to 700 adventure specialists

Ireland’s growing adventure market will receive a significant boost as 700 of the world’s top adventure specialists arrive here for a global summit.

The Adventure Travel World Summit 2014 (ATWS) begins on Monday and is being is being held in Killarney.

The high-profile event is seen as an opportunity to sell the country to the most influential players within one of tourism’s fastest growing sectors.

Some of the expected 700 international delegates have already arrived in Kerry to take part in pre-summit “adventures”.

These tailored tours will showcase the best Ireland can offer and give a range of tourism businesses across the country an opportunity to appeal to the world’s top experts in this sector.

Fáilte Ireland estimates that the direct economic impact to the economy from hosting the ATWS global summit will be in the region of €1m, along with the significant marketing, industry education and global networking value it will also provide. The global world adventure travel market is estimated to be worth almost $90bn and around €852m here in Ireland.

Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn said it was a major coup for Ireland to be hosting the event.