City to host 3000 top medical professionals at International EuroSpine Event
Dublin’s position as a ‘go-to’ venue for international medical conferences received a boost today as Minister of State Michael Ring and Fáilte Ireland confirmed that the city will host the 2017 EuroSpine conference. The annual event of the Spine Society of Europe will bring 3000 medical professionals to the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) and generate expected revenue of over €4 million for the local economy in the capital.
The aims of such EuroSpine events are to stimulate the exchange of knowledge and ideas in the field of research, prevention and treatment of spine diseases and related problems and to coordinate efforts undertaken in European countries for further development in this field. Previous EuroSpine conferences have taken place in Brussels, Milan and Amsterdam.
Today’s announcement comes as business tourism and conferencing in Ireland are going from strength to strength. Already this year Fáilte Ireland’s Dublin Convention Bureau has secured almost €32m worth of conferences for Dublin with many more in the pipeline.
Welcoming today’s news, Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring said –
“There is now strong evidence that the Government’s efforts to attract high-profile conferences to our shores are working. Fáilte Ireland has been actively involved in securing a very large number of conferences through its financial and practical support schemes, and I am sure we can expect further similar good news in the future.”
The securement of the conference was aided by Professor Ciaran Bolger from Beaumont Hospital via Fáilte Ireland’s Conference Ambassador Programme which was developed to support individuals who can influence their international colleagues to host their next conference in Ireland.
Emphasising that the winning of conferences such as the EuroSpine event showed that Ireland was positioning itself well to grow the business tourism sector, Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland said –
“This is another great revenue boost for Dublin and clearly shows that our pitch to sell Ireland as a business tourism destination is working well. Research shows Ireland to be performing extremely well as a conference and business meeting destination with 85% of overseas delegates and professionals, who have attended an event here, saying that they would certainly recommend Ireland to their peers and colleagues as a conference destination.”
Fáilte Ireland research shows that nine in ten overseas conference delegates registered a “very satisfied” rating for their experience of Ireland as a destination for international conferences. Away from the business at hand, almost nine in ten conference delegates say that they would also highly recommend Ireland as a destination for a holiday or short break and eight in ten say that it is likely that they would return to Ireland for a holiday or short break in the future.
The research also shows that, on average, international delegates spent over six days in Ireland with nearly a quarter of delegates using the conference to mix business and leisure. Almost half the international delegates who come to Ireland are from Mainland Europe, with one in five from North America. Britain and Northern Ireland accounted for a quarter of international delegates.
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ENDS
For further information please contact:
Alex Connolly – Head of Communications
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Catherine Whelan
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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 185,000 people and generates almost €5.7 billion in revenue a year.
EuroSpine – the Spine Society of Europe
The aims of EuroSpine are to stimulate the exchange of knowledge and ideas in the field of research, prevention and treatment of spine diseases and related problems and to coordinate efforts undertaken in European countries for further development in this field.
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