Tourism in Ballyhoura Country

Tourism in Ballyhoura Country

Tourism has been a key area of development and growth in the Ballyhoura area since the late 1980s when a group of local community members recognised the need to diversify the local economy to address the decline and considered that tourism development offered considerable potential.  

Arising from this, the Ballyhoura Fáilte Society was established as a tourism cooperative to promote tourism in the area. The group quickly realised that while there was considerable tourism potential locally, there was a need to widen the area of operation, and to invest in infrastructure and product development in order to attract sufficient numbers of visitors. Furthermore, they recognised that diversifying the rural economy would require them to extend their focus beyond tourism. This led to the process of preparing the first Integrated Development Plan, and the subsequent establishment of Ballyhoura Development. Tourism remains a key growth area within Ballyhoura Country, with tourism investment resulting in continued growth in accommodation, visitor attractions and food service provision, driven by coherent tourism development, marketing and training strategy which is supported by regional and national statutory tourism and training partners and local authorities.