Additional direct flights now operating from China to Dublin are bringing thousands more Chinese visitors to Ireland this year.
Fáilte Ireland is working with Irish tourism businesses across the country to help them capitalise on this growth by training them in how to meet the specific needs of the Chinese visitor. Chinese tourists are different to traditional holidaymakers and offering the right kind of service is crucial to success within this market.
The Get China Ready Programme is a Fáilte Ireland initiative developed in partnership with Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland jointly delivered by Fáilte Ireland with the support of the Centre for Competitiveness, the licensed provider of COTRI (China Outbound Tourism Research Institute) programmes in Ireland. The specialised programme provides tourism businesses with insights into the Chinese visitor and how to meet their cultural service and culinary needs, as well as in-depth knowledge on Routes to Market to support businesses to win business from the Chinese market.
Eight Irish tourism businesses spanning Meath, Dublin, Limerick, Kildare, Galway and Belfast have this week been awarded the Fáilte Ireland China Ready COTRI Certification Award after successfully completing the programme. They are: The Knightsbrook Hotel, Meath; Causey Farm, Meath; Dublin hotels The Sandymount Hotel and the Temple Bar Hotel; Carton House in Kildare; The Savoy Hotel Limerick; The Galmont Hotel in Galway; Hastings Grand Central Hotel in Belfast.
With many challenges on the horizon for the tourism industry, including uncertainty around Brexit, Fáilte Ireland is urging businesses to diversify into new markets, with a focus on China as the biggest outbound tourism market in the world.
First Secretary, Head of Culture and Tourism at the Chinese Embassy, Olga Wang was present at the award presentation, along with representatives from CORTI (China Outbound Tourism Research Institute).
Presenting the Awards, Paul Keeley, Director of Commercial Development at Fáilte Ireland, said:
“China is one of the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in the world with numbers predicted to grow to 200 million by 2020. New direct flights from Beijing, Hong Kong and more recently Shenzhen to Dublin offer an excellent opportunity for Irish tourism businesses to attract more visitors from the Chinese market. The aim of Fáilte Ireland’s Get China Ready Programme is to ensure that the Chinese visitor is warmly welcomed to Ireland and that tourism businesses are prepared and culturally aware of the requirements of our Chinese visitors.”
Over 350 tourism businesses have been supported by Fáilte Ireland with an introductory level programme to understand the cultural needs of the Chinese visitor, while over 40 businesses have now invested in this in-depth programme to Get China Ready and many more are currently undertaking training and workshops.
To find out more about Fáilte Ireland’s range of business supports, visit www.failteireland.ie/Supports
Jump to top