Zipit Donadea has officially opened in Co. Kildare, adding a €1.5m forest adventure park to Donadea Forest Park and strengthening the county’s outdoor activity tourism offer.
The project was opened by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD, and has been delivered through a mix of public and private funding. It received €1.2m through Fáilte Ireland’s Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme, co-funded by the European Union under the EU Just Transition Fund and the Government of Ireland. Zipit Forest Adventures invested a further €300,000 in the development.
For tourism operators, destination teams and attraction developers, the scheme is a practical example of how nature-based visitor infrastructure can be introduced within an existing forest setting while supporting local employment, regional visitation and longer-term economic returns.
The project is expected to generate an additional €9.3m in economic impact over 15 years and support 20 jobs at the activity centre. Visitor numbers are forecast to exceed 25,000 in the first year, with annual footfall projected to rise above 40,000 by 2033.
A Regenerative Tourism Model In Practice
Located within Coillte’s Donadea Forest Park, Zipit Donadea has been designed as an outdoor activity attraction that sits alongside the site’s existing walking routes, heritage features and café offer.
The aerial course includes ropes, ziplines and elevated treetop nets across six separate routes. Dedicated junior elements extend the attraction’s operating scope, creating varied levels of challenge for different age groups and group types. The inclusion of treetop net areas also adds a distinct play-based element within the wider forest activity model.
Supporting infrastructure includes a purpose-built reception cabin, spectator seating and accessible toilet facilities. These operational additions are important for visitor flow, dwell time, group management and event readiness, particularly for operators assessing how adventure attractions can function within public or semi-public natural settings.
Sustainability has been built into the delivery model. The facility operates fully off-grid and is powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, supporting lower emissions and reduced noise within the forest environment. For landowners and operators, this provides a useful reference point for developing commercial visitor activity while limiting pressure on sensitive natural assets.
Funding Supports Regional Tourism Growth
The opening forms part of a wider investment programme led by Fáilte Ireland through its Investment Grant Aid Scheme for Private and Community SMEs, which opened for applications in August 2023. Zipit Donadea is the latest completed project under the scheme and the second regenerative tourism project to open in Kildare, following Emily Square in Athy in September 2025.
Government and tourism leaders have linked the project to the EU Just Transition Fund’s wider aim of supporting sustainable economic activity across the Midlands. The scheme is designed to help businesses and communities develop fresh revenue opportunities, diversify regional economies and strengthen Ireland’s tourism infrastructure.
Fáilte Ireland has positioned Donadea Forest Park as a natural asset with strong potential to attract domestic and international visitors, while also supporting local businesses through increased footfall and longer stays in the area.
Value For Operators And Place-Making Teams
Zipit Donadea offers useful lessons for organisations working across outdoor attractions, forest recreation, activity tourism and regional destination development. It demonstrates how a private operator, public agencies and a state forestry partner can align around a project that adds commercial value without removing the character of the host site.
For the visitor experience sector, the scheme points to continued demand for low-impact outdoor activity models that combine recreation, access, environmental sensitivity and measurable economic benefit. Its opening also adds to Ireland’s growing portfolio of funded regenerative tourism projects, giving destination leaders another live case study in rural and regional visitor infrastructure.
