Tourism, buoyant in 2014, is already setting its sights on growth for next year as members of the Irish tourism industry prepare for a targeted 2015 sales drive this week.
On Wednesday 17 September, Fáilte Ireland will host the first in a series of custom-made workshops to enable Irish tourism operators to pitch directly to the cream of the global travel industry. Over the next five weeks Irish tourism businesses will engage in over 10,000 one-to-one meetings with approximately 140 of the world’s key tour operators.
Each one of these “Destination Ireland” events, organised by Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with their colleagues in Tourism Ireland, will focus on a particular market. The first event will welcome a select group of key travel agents to attend the ‘Canadian Expo Workshop’. This will be followed by the British Coach and Group Tour Operators Workshop on 22 September; New and Emerging Markets Workshop 16 October and American Expo 21 October.
Martina Bromley, head of sales with Fáilte Ireland, stressed the importance of hosting events like these and the benefits for the Irish trade involved:
“This has been a great year for Irish tourism so far with the recent CSO figures showing strong growth in both revenue and visitor numbers for the first six months of the year. However, we can’t rest on our laurels and it’s important to build on this year’s momentum.
“We are delighted to welcome these important overseas travel operators to our shores as they plan their 2015 packages. These overseas agents have the capacity to deliver significant amounts of visitors to Ireland and their presence here is testimony to our enduring strong appeal as a destination and the variety and attractiveness of the Irish holiday. Hopefully the deals made over the next few weeks will assist ongoing growth in Irish tourism in 2015.”
To further showcase what Ireland can offer, Fáilte Ireland has also put together a number of specially crafted tailor-made tours for the travel agents. These trips provide a great opportunity for overseas operators to experience Ireland first-hand and can play a key role in persuading these agents to choose Ireland as a holiday destination for their customers.
Highlights of what the international buyers will be sampling include the Fab Food and Le Cool Walking Trails and Experience Gaelic Games in Dublin. Regional highlights include a tasting session at Skelligs Chocolate Company, the Cliffs of Moher, Foyne Flying Boat Museum and Seafari Cruises Kenmare.
