IRELAND’S ASSOCIATION OF ADVENTURE TOURISM CONFERENCE TO TAKE PLACE IN MUNSTER VALES
Ireland’s Association for Adventure Tourism (IAAT) will host our 2019 conference on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st November in Charleville Park Hotel, Co. Cork. This year’s event is with the support of Official Event Partner Cork County Council, and in conjunction with Munster Vales and Ballyhoura Development.
DAY 1 of the conference will offer delegates the opportunity to experience a range of activities in the region. They will have the choice of an Adventure Option or a Leisure Option trip. The adventure option will include mountain biking at the Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails, and activities at Ballyhass Lakes. The leisure option will include visits to Lough Gur Heritage Centre and Doneraile Court and Park.
Local food businesses will provide refreshments for delegates with a Networking event in the venue that evening. Dinner at the hotel is also included on the first evening for those who partake in activities.
Adventure Option (lunch included)
Morning: Mountain Biking at the Ballyhoura MTB Park
Afternoon: Ballyhass Lakes, Mallow – High Ropes and Axe Throwing
Leisure Option (lunch included)
Morning: Lough Gur Heritage Centre, Bruff – guided tour of sites and lakeshore and presentation in Heritage Centre
Afternoon: Doneraile Court and Park
Full Day 1 itinerary is available HERE.
DAY 2 will then comprise of a series of key industry insights on key topics such as Brexit, Insurance, Sustainability and Marketing through talks, panel discussions and breakout workshop sessions. The keynote speech will be delivered by Mike O’Shea – Adventurer, Businessman and Consultant. Mike has recently successfully completed crossings of the Southern Ice Cap on Kilimanjaro, North Patagonian Icecap and also walked the complete length of frozen Lake Baikal, the world’s largest lake. He has also worked on Star Wars, Mission Impossible and the new James Bond movie. Other speakers will include Paul Kelly from Fáilte Ireland and Eoghan O’Mara Walsh from ITIC.
A limited number of Early Bird tickets for the Conference are available. IAAT Members can purchase tickets for €80. The Charleville Park Hotel also have discounted rates for delegates attending (quote ‘IAAT Conference’ on the phone).
IAAT Chairman Rob Rankin commented:
“We are delighted to bring this year’s conference to Munster Vales in County Cork. This is our second year holding the Conference and, on the back of the success of our inaugural event in Mullingar last December, we look forward to delivering another two days of genuine benefit to all delegates attending. If you are involved in Adventure/Activity tourism in any capacity, we strongly recommend coming along.”
Cllr. Christopher O’Sullivan, Mayor of County Cork added:
“Cork County Council is proud to be the Official Event Partner and Main Sponsor of the Conference. Adventure Tourism is estimated to be valued at €1.2 billion and is one of the fastest growing and most exciting sectors within the Irish tourism industry. North Cork has a strong outdoor activity offering right in the heart of Munster Vales – a tourism destination linking the counties of Cork, Waterford, Tipperary & Limerick. It is an ideal location to host the event, providing a unique platform to showcase Munster Vales to a very focused audience of adventure professionals. I heartily encourage those travelling to Charleville for the conference to take advantage of the day 1 option fam visits and really immerse themselves with the adventure and beauty of Munster Vales.”
Fiona Monaghan, Head of Activities at Fáilte Ireland, said:
“Our vision is for Ireland to be recognised internationally as a world-class, year-round activity destination. Activity tourism can make a significant contribution to Ireland’s economic and social development and also help spread tourism to every region. We look forward to the Ireland’s Association for Adventure Tourism’s conference and working with activity providers to secure continued growth in adventure tourism.”
Supported by Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s Association for Adventure Tourism is an independent representative association for the adventure tourism sector on the island of Ireland and the IAAT aims to work with adventure tourism operators to develop the sector in a sustainable and responsible manner.
For further information or updates, please email IAAT CEO Brendan Kenny (brendan.kenny@iaat.ie).
The 2018 Conference included key note speaker Bobby Kerr, Paul Kelly (CEO, Fáilte Ireland), Fiona Monaghan (Head of Activities, Fáilte Ireland) and Eoghan O’Mara Walsh (CEO, ITIC). To review the 2018 line-up, please click HERE.
