Fighting For Our Unfair Share
01/11/2010
Pictured (l. to r): Julia Marten, Tracoin Services (USA); Caroline Munro, Shearings Holidays UK; Paul Keeley, Fáilte Ireland; Mary de Ridder (Germany); and Caroline Phelan, CP Consulting (France)
Fighting For Our Unfair Share
Fáilte Ireland Hosts Workshop on Selling Ireland Overseas
An immediate priority for the Irish tourism industry in the current economic climate is to redouble its efforts to develop and secure an increased share of business from key overseas markets. The need to address the issue of excess capacity in the hotel sector underscores this challenge, particularly given the recent high dependence of the sector on the home holiday market, which appears to have now peaked.
In a bid to provide tourism firms with practical supports to generate more overseas business, Fáilte Ireland today hosted a dedicated workshop on selling Ireland overseas. The workshop featured key players from each of Ireland’s key source markets, tour operators and Tourism Ireland, each providing Irish firms with an inside track to achieving more sales abroad.
Speaking at the workshop, Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland explained –
“There is little doubt that tourism can play an important role in our economic recovery. However, central to playing our part will be our ability to lessen our recent high dependence on local demand at home and instead gain a greater appreciation of our key overseas markets and how to tap into the potential they offer in terms of generating foreign earnings and sustaining jobs around the country.
Perhaps, as an industry, tourism became a little complacent during the boom years when demand was buoyant at both home and abroad. That has now certainly changed and Ireland is going to have to fight much harder for its ‘unfair share’ of key overseas markets.
We believe our key client companies around the country are up to the challenge and our workshop is a practical response to a very strong industry demand for insights and advice on selling to the variety of overseas markets we need to pitch to. In essence, what does today’s overseas visitor want and how do we guarantee it? Our workshop sets out to answer that question and to show Irish tourism businesses how they can successfully sell to international markets with confidence.”
Topics for discussion included:
· The challenges and opportunities of a changed travel world;
· Sales insights from the UK;
· The view from North America;
· Selling to France;
· The German market;
· How to access overseas markets ;
· Top tips on selling your business.
Attendees got the opportunity to hear about the range of business supports available to them locally from Fáilte Ireland to ensure they are fully equipped to take advantage of emerging market opportunities and of the various promotional platforms available from Tourism Ireland’s global presence.
Today’s event is the latest element of Fáilte Ireland’s comprehensive package of supports to help the tourism industry trade out of the downturn.Whether it is the power of internet marketing, advice on selling local events, or the need to cut costs, Fáilte Ireland this year has invested over €11 million in the form of direct supports and advice for tourism enterprises nationally.
Mr Quinn concluded -
“In an ever changing world economy, we cannot simply rely on a sentimental image of Ireland or take for granted those factors which have made us popular in the past. It is imperative that we stay ahead of the curve and continually reposition ourselves for tomorrow’s tourist.
Tourism businesses need to identify, target and successfully sell to their markets and we, in Fáilte Ireland, and our colleagues in Tourism Ireland are committed to ensuring they can do just that.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Louise Tolerton
Press 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 190,000 people and generates more than €6 billion in revenue a year.
Back