Fáilte Ireland is pleased to announce that January has been a record month for attracting international business conferences and events to Ireland. Fifty-seven conferences worth at least €28million to the economy have been secured for future years with the support of Fáilte Ireland’s business tourism team.
The conferences will take place at venues across the country, and will attract over 19,000 international delegates.
Business Tourism is currently worth at least €760million to the Irish economy and supports 22,000 jobs. Fáilte Ireland is working on growing the sector during the next six years to bring the value of business tourism to the Irish economy over the €1billion mark.
Every business delegate is worth in the region of €1,600 to the economy which is three times more than the average leisure tourist. The National Tourism Development Authority has identified Business Tourism as a priority sector as it helps businesses prepare for Brexit. It will focus on growing business tourism in the regions outside Dublin by supporting Regional Convention Bureaux in Shannon, Cork, Kerry and Galway. Fáilte Ireland is aiming to win conferences worth €31m for locations outside Dublin this year, a 15% increase on last year.
Some of the conferences secured by Fáilte Ireland in January include a major CrossFit competition, the Union of Aerospace Insurers, the World Ballroom Championships and the Third Global Soil Biodiversity Conference.
Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly said:
“There is significant potential for future growth in the Business Tourism space. 2019 is off to a strong start and we will be actively seeking out every opportunity to secure more business for Ireland. As we prepare for Brexit, central to our work in the year ahead is selling Ireland as a Business Tourism destination to the UK market which has always been a strong market for us in this area of our work. I am particularly pleased about the Irish Up with People Alumni meeting for Ennis - Business Tourism has major potential regionally and we will be focused on driving more conferences and events to the regions to ensure we maximise the returns from this lucrative market. Last year was a record year for tourism with the sector generating €7.8billion in revenue and supporting 260,000 jobs. Business Tourism continues to be fundamental in the growth of the sector, particularly in supporting a longer season for many businesses, as conference delegates typically arrive outside the summer months.”
Head of Commercial Development at Fáilte Ireland, Paul Mockler added:
“Ireland stands out in the international marketplace as a top Business Tourism destination thanks to its amazing hospitality, ease of access, world class venues and leading industries. The wins announced today reflect the real diversity and calibre of events that we attract, and this is very much testament to the strong clusters of industry leaders we have in Ireland, as well as the hard work of our Business Tourism team, our Conference Ambassadors and our Convention Bureaux. The record start to the year is reflective of our significant increase in investment into business tourism. Fáilte Ireland has allocated an additional €1m into our Business Tourism activity to support our extremely ambitious targets of achieving year-on-year growth of +9% for Dublin and +15% into regional Ireland. “
Examples of business events and conferences secured in January 2019:
Event name, estimated number of international delegates with estimated value to Irish economy
Third Global Soil Biodiversity Conference (Dublin, September 2021) - 1,000 delegates - Value: €1.6m
World Ballroom Championships (Dublin, December 2019) - 2,000 delegates - Value: €1.16m
CrossFit Filthy 150 (Dublin, November 2019) - 1,500 competitors / 4,000+ spectators - Value: €696,000
World Congress of the International Primary Care Respiratory Group (Dublin, May 2020) - 450 delegates - Value: €720,000
International Visual Sociology Association (June/ July 2020) - 275 delegates - Value: €444,000
International Union of Aerospace Insurers AGM (Dublin, May 2020) - 250 delegates - Value: €440,000
The Irish Up with People Alumni Meeting (Ennis, April 2019) - 200 delegates - Value: €432,000
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Meet in Ireland
Meet in Ireland is the official MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) brand for the island of Ireland. Owned and managed by Fáilte Ireland, it facilitates a partnership with Tourism Ireland and the Tourism Northern Ireland, to promote Ireland as a leading conference and meeting destination overseas.
• Business Tourism is worth €760m to the Irish economy in 2017 and supported over 20,000 jobs.
• Over the next 7 years to 2025, Fáilte Ireland have set itself very ambitious targets to grow the international MICE market to Ireland by 40% to €1bn.
• Incentive and Corporate Travel
Building Ireland’s position as a major destination in the incentive travel sector, where companies reward employees with trips abroad, is a key focus for our Meet In Ireland team.
International incentive buyers are looking for a unique experience for their clients, something they cannot experience as individuals or in their own country.
Fáilte Ireland offers a full range of practical and financial supports to help win business for Ireland.
Find out more at
www.meetinireland.com
Regional Convention Bureaux – to find out more about Ireland’s Convention Bureaux, visit https://www.meetinireland.com/regional-convention-bureaux
Fáilte Ireland’s Conference Ambassador Programme
The Fáilte Ireland Conference Ambassador Programme has been one of the key bedrocks of success for Ireland as a MICE destination. Through the programme, Fáilte Ireland’s Meet in Ireland team identify influencers across a myriad disciplines and encourage them to bring an international conference here. Due to the structured nature of this industry sector, it’s possible to research and identify associations that have the potential to come to Ireland, and also identify a member of that association influential in his or her field. Once an influencer has been identified, is contacted and agrees to bid for an international conference, he or she becomes a Conference Ambassador. Fáilte Ireland provides practical and financial aid to support them through their journey, from bid stage to implementation. Such has been the success of the Programme to date that over 75% of all international conferences confirmed for Ireland arrive via this route. Find out more at
www.meetinireland.com
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