- 34 members of Irish trade
- Failte wants to grow on 360 conventions in 2017
Failte Ireland’ Paul Kelly has told delegates at IMEX in Las Vegas that 360 conferences representing 117,000 international delegates took place in Ireland in 2017.
It says Q3 figures also show strong growth in locations outside of Dublin through Regional Convention Bureaux in Shannon, Cork, Kerry and Galway. Failte uses multipliers to calculate that each delegate is worth €1,384 to the Irish economy, a total of €162m.
Fáilte Ireland’s Meet in Ireland team are in Las Vegas for the annual IMEX America event with 85 one-to-one meetings and 34 members of Irish trade joining Fáilte Ireland with an additional 470 appointments.
The trade partners include:
- A Touch of Ireland
- Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort
- ICC Belfast
- Carton House
- Clayton Hotel Burlington Road
- Convention Centre Dublin
- Cork Convention Bureau
- Dromoland Castle Hotel
- Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort
- Dublin Convention Bureau
- Event Partners Ireland
- Galgorm Resort & Spa
- Grand Hotel
- Guinness Storehouse
- InterContinental Dublin
- Irish Horizons DMC
- Kildare Hotel and Country Club
- Merrion Hotel
- Moloney & Kelly
- O’Callaghan Hotels Group
- Odyssey International
- Ovation Group
- Portmarnock Hotel & Golf Links
- Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Dublin
- Secret Ireland Escapes
- Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau
- The Marker Hotel
- The Merchant
- The Shelbourne
- The Westbury Hotel
- The Westin Dublin
- Tifco Hotel Group
- Visit Belfast
- Wallace Travel Group
Speaking at IMEX America, Fáilte Ireland’s CEO Paul Kelly said:
“tourism is a significant contributor to Ireland’s wellbeing, both socially and economically. It supports 240,000 jobs and also generates €7.2 billion in revenue and €1.7 billion in Exchequer earnings – the equivalent of over €1,000 for every household in Ireland. In the Business Tourism sector, we believe there’s huge potential for future growth and the business we’ve won so far this year, exceeding the total figure for 2017 already, is testament to that. I’m particularly excited about the potential of Business Tourism regionally. Conferences and business events are benefitting regions outside Dublin but they could play a much bigger part – and this will be a strategic focus of our work over the coming years and we’re hoping to convert even more business for the regions here at IMEX America this week. Thanks to Ireland’s amazing hospitality, ease of access, venues and leading industries, Ireland manages to punch well above its weight in winning business events and we have been seeking out every possible opportunity to bring even more big events to Irish shores. There are sound business reasons to do so – every delegate is worth more than €1,600 to the Irish economy and I’m delighted that, so far this year, we’ve secured €162m worth of business for future years, in both the capital and the regions, with much more in the pipeline. Events like IMEX are a key opportunity to get major overseas meetings, conferences and events booked in for the years ahead. We have top-class Irish industry joining us, and I have no doubt they will give these buyers countless reasons to book meetings in Ireland.”
