Top US Travel Agents Arrive In Ireland

Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Tourism Ireland and Shannon Development today welcome eighty five top US travel agents to the Strand Hotel in Limerick for the US Destination Expo workshop event. The agents who are all members from top level groups in the US, such as Virtuoso, Ensemble, Signature, AAA and Wagon Lits, will attend the one day workshop as part of a nationwide familiarisation visit.
John Concannon, Director of Regional Development at Fáilte Ireland, stressed the importance of the American market. “We are delighted to welcome this group of US travel agents to Ireland in co-operation with Tourism Ireland and Shannon Development. US travel agents, especially those belonging to consolidated groups such as these, deliver significant amounts of business to Ireland and their presence here is testament to the strong appeal of our accommodation sector and the variety and attractiveness of the holiday activities on offer.”
 
Workshops, such as this, offer significant benefits to both Irish industry representatives and overseas buyers, allowing participants to meet with many more buyers/suppliers at a lower cost than would be possible on an individual purchasing sales trip.
 
Welcoming the strong attendance at the workshop, Mark Henry, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Central Marketing, said: “In a difficult year for outbound tourism from the US, this workshop is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the tourism product in the Shannon region and the West of Ireland to these influential travel agents, as we in Tourism Ireland are pulling out all the stops to win business and to keep this region and the island of Ireland ‘top of mind’ with the American consumer.”
 
John King, Tourism Director at Shannon Development said “This visit underpins work we are doing to attract additional US visitors to the Shannon Region. Our Region has always enjoyed a special relationship with North American visitors and today’s event allows us to continue with that relationship and generate new business for the 2009/2010 tourism season.” 
 

ENDS
 

For further information please contact:

Louise Tolerton
PR Officer - 086 6086578/01 8847135
 

Note for editor

Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority, was established in 2003 to guide and promote tourism as a leading indigenous component of the Irish economy.
 
The tourism and hospitality industry employs an estimated 320,000 people and generates more than €6 billion in revenue a year

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