The US Meeting Planners are pictured at Christ Church Cathedral
Ireland benefitted from an amazing opportunity to showcase itself as a destination for conferences and incentives to a group of visiting US Meeting Planners (which included representatives from New York, Florida, Washington DC, Atlanta, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia and California). The trip was hosted by Fáilte Ireland’s Meet in Ireland team, in partnership with Tourism Ireland and the Wallace Travel Group, Kerry Convention Bureau and The Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau.
Learning why Ireland is a desirable destination for conferences and incentives, the group enjoyed bespoke familiarisation trips of Kerry, Limerick, Clare and Dublin, which highlighted a number of key venues, hotels and business tourism suppliers. (See list below).
Commenting on the visit of these influential US Meeting Planners, Fáilte Ireland's Meet in Ireland Manager, Ciara Gallagher, said:
“Business visitors want to immerse themselves in the culture of the country they’re visiting so that’s why it is so important for us to highlight what Ireland has to offer Meeting Planners. Business tourism is the most lucrative form of tourism, with visitors travelling to Ireland for business purposes spending almost three times more than the average visitor.
“In the first quarter, Fáilte Ireland has already secured €42m worth of meetings, conferences, incentives and corporate events for Ireland under the ‘Meet in Ireland’ and Dublin Convention Bureau brands and supported the Regional Convention Bureaux in Kerry, Galway, Shannon and Cork to convert a further €10m for their regions.”
It is estimated that Business Tourism is worth almost €760m to the Irish economy in 2017 and supports 22,000 jobs. Over the next 10 years, Fáilte Ireland has set itself very ambitious targets to grow this very lucrative market to Ireland by 55% to €1.2bn. To help win business for Ireland, Fáilte Ireland offers a full range of practical and financial supports for businesses. Find out more at www.meetinireland.com
The US group visited the following:
Kerry
Muckross Traditional Farms
Gap of Dunloe
Lake of Killarney (Lord Branden’s Cottage)
Kenmare
Great Southern Killarney
The Europe Hotel
Killarney Park Hotel
J.M Reidys traditional pub
Moriartys, traditional Irish gift shop.
Limerick
Adare Manor
House Limerick
Alex Findlater & Co Food Emporiium
King John’s Castle
Dromoland Castle
Clare
Secret Ireland Escapes
Dublin
Guinness Storehouse
Conrad Hotel
Cliff Townhouse
Mansion House
SOLE Seafood & Grill Restaurant
Westbury Hotel
Shelbourne Hotel
Intercontentinal Hotel
Christ Church Cathedral
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