Tuesday, 21 September, Fáilte Ireland hosted the first in-person business conference since the easing of restrictions to announce Ireland is open for business meetings, conferences and events.
Minister for Tourism Catherine Martin TD officially opened the in-person industry event in The Convention Centre Dublin today. She was joined by Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly who provided details on Fáilte Ireland’s plans to support recovery of the business tourism industry.
Prior to Covid-19, business tourism had been one of the fastest-growing segments of the Irish tourism industry, contributing more than €716 million annually to the economy and supporting up to 20,000 jobs. This sector is highly specialised, lucrative and high-yielding for Ireland because each business tourism visitor generates almost three times the tourism revenue than that of a leisure tourist.
The Minister said: “I am very pleased to give the opening address at today’s first in-person business conference and declare Ireland as officially open again for business tourism. We know there is huge pent-up demand to return to face-to-face engagement.
We have a great business tourism product in Ireland and I look forward to working with Fáilte Ireland to develop a strong pipeline of future business and ensure the infrastructure is in place to drive a speedy recovery of the sector.”
Paul Kelly, Fáilte Ireland CEO said: “For a small country, Ireland has always punched above its weight in winning business events and recognising the importance and high value of the Business Tourism sector. Fáilte Ireland is committed to continued investment, development and focus in this area to ensure recovery.
Despite the unprecedented trading environment, the Fáilte Ireland team has identified a pipeline of qualified, tracked and nurtured business tourism leads that are worth €1bn and represent business that has the potential to be hosted in Ireland up to 2033.”
