Fáilte Ireland has confirmed that 85 international conferences worth €48.5m taking place between 2021 and 2027 have been secured for Ireland so far this year.
Conferences such as Transport Research Arena 2024 in Dublin (€4.8m) and the International Federation for Home Economics World Congress 2024 in Galway (€2.4m) have been secured.
The national tourism development authority for Ireland is looking to drive further business event wins for the country over the coming days at IMEX America which is one of the largest global meetings industry trade shows in the world.
“For a small country, Ireland has always punched above its weight in wining business events”
The event is a key source market of business for Irish suppliers and it gets underway today (Tuesday 9th November) in Las Vegas.
Fáilte Ireland will be joined by 36 Irish trade partners on the Meet in Ireland booth.
“For a small country, Ireland has always punched above its weight in wining business events,” said Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland.
“Prior to Covid-19, business tourism had been one of the fastest growing segments of the Irish tourism industry, contributing more than €716m 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.”
More events for regional Ireland
A central focus of Fáilte Ireland’s pitch at IMEX America this year will be on growing business events into regional Ireland.
So far this year, 47pc of Fáilte Ireland’s business tourism wins are for locations outside Dublin through the Regional Convention Bureaux in Shannon, Cork, Kerry and Galway.
“Despite the unprecedented trading environment, Fáilte Ireland’s team has been working to ensure that Ireland’s business events offering has stayed front of mind with international event planners,” said Paul Mockler, head of Commercial Development at Fáilte Ireland.
“The team is currently working on a pipeline of opportunities worth almost €1bn for events due to take place up to 2033. Tradeshows like IMEX America are a key opportunity to leverage our work over the past 18 months and secure major overseas meetings, conferences and events for the years ahead. We have 36 top-class Irish industry joining us, and they are showcasing the very best that Ireland has to offer.”
