Fáilte Ireland has revealed that it has secured 162 international conferences worth €67 million for Ireland so far this year. This represents an increase of over 15% in the value of the events secured over the same period last year.
The national tourism development authority is hoping to drive these numbers even higher this week at the annual IMEX Frankfurt event.
IMEX is one of the largest worldwide exhibitions for incentive travel, meetings and events. Fáilte Ireland will showcase Ireland as a world-class business events destination to over 3,200 suppliers and 5,500 meeting planners who organise international meetings, incentives, conferences and events.
"Leveraging The Strong Potential Of Business Tourism"
Speaking ahead of IMEX Frankfurt, Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly said, "Fáilte Ireland is focussed on leveraging the strong potential of business tourism to generate greater tax revenue and employment for Ireland over the coming years. This sector has huge potential for growth. Testament to this is the fact that, just ahead of the mid-year mark, we are already on track to exceed our growth targets for business tourism in 2018. I’m particularly pleased to see steady growth in business tourism in the regions. Conferences and business events are benefitting regions outside Dublin, but they could play a much bigger part. This will be a strategic focus of our work over the coming years, and we’re hoping to convert even more business for regional Ireland at IMEX Frankfurt this week."
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
