40 years of community-led tourism, a new generation of tourism businesses and an ambitious vision for the future came together at Charleville Park Hotel on Wednesday last, 16 September, for the launch of the Ballyhoura Sustainability Stories Campaign.
Developed through the REGEN BALLYHOURA Sustainability & Regenerative Tourism Network, the new digital storytelling campaign will shine a light on the people, places and businesses shaping a more sustainable and regenerative future for tourism across Ballyhoura.
The event brought together people who have helped shape tourism in Ballyhoura over four decades with those now carrying that legacy forward, using the story of Ballyhoura’s past, present and future to explore how tourism can continue to contribute positively to local communities, the rural economy and the natural environment.
At the heart of the campaign are the businesses and people who make up the REGEN BALLYHOURA network. Through a series of professionally produced short films released over the coming months, audiences will be taken behind the scenes to meet the entrepreneurs, families and communities at the heart of tourism in Ballyhoura.
40 YEARS IN THE MAKING
The launch comes during an especially significant year for Ballyhoura tourism, as Ballyhoura Fáilte celebrates 40 years in 2026 as a pioneering model of community tourism development. The Ballyhoura Walking Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary from 8–11 October 2026, while the Ballyhoura Mountain Bike Trails celebrate 20 years since the opening of the Republic’s first purpose-built mountain bike trail network.
Those milestones provided the backdrop for a panel conversation tracing Ballyhoura’s tourism journey from its community-led beginnings, through the opportunities and challenges of the present, to the ambitions and possibilities of the years ahead.
The discussion was hosted by Paddy Mathews of Mathews Consultants, while Carmel Fox brought the audience back to the origins of the organisation and the vision of people who recognised that tourism could become a catalyst for the development of their communities and the wider region.
Margaret Atalla, current Chair of Ballyhoura Fáilte, reflected on the opportunities and challenges facing the destination today.
Looking towards Ballyhoura’s future, Fiona Dunne of Fáilte Ireland spoke about the collaboration between stakeholders in developing a Destination and Experience Development Plan for Ballyhoura and how the region can build on its strengths within Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands.
John Leamy of Ballyneety Golf Club explored the legacy that today’s work can create and the significant opportunity presented by the Junior Ryder Cup coming to Ballyneety Golf Club in 2027.
While Amanda Slattery of Ballyhoura Development brought the conversation back to the realities of delivering sustainable rural and tourism development.
CAMPAIGN TEASER
Last week’s launch marks the beginning of the next chapter of the Ballyhoura Sustainability Stories Campaign, under the theme ‘Rooted in Place. Shaped by People. Shared Through Stories’, which will officially begin online this Thursday, 24th September, with the release of a campaign teaser across Visit Ballyhoura’s digital channels.
Then, from 1st October, individual Sustainability Stories will be shared regularly, introducing audiences to the people, businesses and places behind the destination and exploring what sustainable and regenerative tourism looks like in practice.
