Tourism Ireland’s ‘Flavours of Ireland’ event in London brought together 60 Irish tourism enterprises and facilitates who engaged with approximately 100 leading global inbound tour operators, primarily from London, in 660 commercial meetings.
Now in its 22nd year, the event, allowing operators to set itineraries and negotiate contracts for 2025 and beyond.
Major tour operators attending the event, some of which bring around 80,000 visitors to Ireland annually, use this opportunity to discover and include new tourism products that can promote regional and longer-stay tourism.
The event is timely, as tour operators are preparing to sign contracts for 2025 and beyond, presenting opportunities to influence the inclusion of new tourism products.
The attendees were: AC Hotel by Marriott Belfast, Aran Island Ferries, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council, Belfast Distillery Company, Boatyard Distillery, Brewery Hops of Ireland, Caherconnell Fort & Sheepdog Demonstrations, Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council, Christ Church Cathedral, City Hotel Derry, Dillons Hotel, DK Connemara Oysters, Doolin Ferry Co, EI Travel Group, Excursions Ireland, Experience Gaelic Games, Fabulous Food Trails, Faithlegg House Hotel, Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum, Griffin Group, Guinness Storehouse, Hastings Hotel Group, Hidden Howth Experiences, Historic Royal Palaces – Hillsborough Castle and Gardens, Holiday Inn Express Derry-Londonderry and Portrush Atlantic Hotel, Holiday Ireland Hotels, iNUA Holdings, Irish National Stud and Gardens, Kildare Village, Kintra Boat Tours, Kylemore Abbey & Victorian Walled Garden, Lough Erne Resort, Merry Ploughboy Pub Traditional Nights, Midleton Distillery Experience, Mid Ulster District Council, Mount Congreve Estate Garden, Mourne Mountains and Ring of Gullion, Newbridge Silverware Visitor Centre, O’Callaghan Coaches, O’Donoghue Ring Collection, Original Irish Hotels, Pearse Lyons Distillery, Powerscourt Estate, Select Hotels of Ireland, Shannon Ferries, Shannon Heritage, Sliabh Liag Cliff Experience & Visitor Centre, Stena Line, Taste and Tour NI, The Ebrington Hotel, The Gleneagle Group, The Old Inn, The Shed Distillery, The Talbot Collection, Titanic Belfast, Trinity Hotel Groups, Vintage Tea Trips, Visit Belfast, Waterman House, Whiskey Island..
Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, shared: “Tourism Ireland runs our Flavours of Ireland event to increase awareness of Ireland among influential global inbound tour operators and to secure a greater share of the global travel market. We are delighted to connect inspiring local tourism businesses from across Ireland with global tour operators, who build itineraries to sell overseas for the coming years. Over 600 commercial meetings take place at our Flavours of Ireland workshop. Local tourism businesses attending offer diverse experiences, from boat trips to cathedrals and castles, from gardens and distilleries to tea tours, from places to stay to ways to travel and regions to explore.”
