Equestrian
Over the generations, horses and Ireland have been synonymous. The country has a deep tradition in equestrian matters which is anchored in our reputation for excellence in horsemanship, breeding and training, as well as our countryside and our affinity as a people with horses.
The tradition has given rise to the development of equestrian tourism as a niche within the portfolio of tourism offers.
An estimated 46,000 overseas visitors engaged in some form of equestrian pursuit in 2009 and spent an estimated €27 million while in Ireland.
In 2008, more than 50,000 overseas visitors engaged in some form of equestrian pursuit in Ireland. 43% of those visitors came from the UK, 34% from mainland Europe and 18% from the United States.
The estimated annual economic contribution of this sector is €54m.
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Horse riding
Fáilte Ireland works closely with AIRE (Association of Irish Riding Establishments) and EHI (Equestrian Holidays Ireland) in promoting the horse riding sector both domestically and overseas.
Although AIRE represent in excess of 230 riding establishments across the country, Fáilte Ireland’s resources and supports are directed towards approximately 50 equestrian tourism centres around the country, which have been identified as such as part of the recently introduced Equestrian Tourism Categorisation.
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Horse racing
Horse racing is an equally important element of the equestrian product in Ireland. Fáilte Ireland and Horse Racing Ireland have recently published the results of research, which was carried out between April 2008 and May 2009, to establish the importance of the racing product to overseas visitors.
It was found that 68,000 overseas visitors attended a race meeting in Ireland every year, 17,000 of which travelled to Ireland specifically for this reason.
Read the full report on horse racing and the overseas visitor (ppt, 1.6MB)
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Environmental guidelines
In April 2010, Fáilte Ireland also published Environmental Guidelines (PDF, 2.2MB) for Riding Establishments, prepared by Certification Europe with the assistance of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Association of Irish Riding Establishments (AIRE).
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