One of China's leading officials visited Powerscourt Gardens as part of a visit to Ireland this week. Liu Yunshan, a member of China's the Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee and First Secretary of the Central Secretariat of the CPC, was welcomed by Tourism Ireland for a visit sure to receive significant media attention back in China.
China has become a significant player in world tourism with regards overseas visits, so added exposure to the market could work as a boon to the whole hospitality industry in Ireland. Recent research, commissioned by Tourism Ireland, reaffirms the strong growth potential from China – with higher-than-expected recognition for Ireland among Chinese travellers and an association with beautiful landscape and scenery. Commenting on the tourism potential for Ireland of the delegation’s visit this week, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland said: “Mr Liu’s visit is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Ireland to prospective holidaymakers in China and has the potential to deliver a major boost for our tourism industry in 2014 and beyond. “The outbound Chinese tourism market is set to grow considerably in the next few years and our research shows that Ireland is well positioned to benefit from this growth. The results of our recent survey of Chinese travellers are very positive and certainly re-affirm our promotional strategy in China. We will continue to highlight Ireland’s landscape and spectacular scenery, placing particular emphasis on our natural, unspoilt environment, our UNESCO World Heritage Sites and other iconic attractions, which are among our unique selling points in China.” Pictured: Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland CEO (left), with Mr Liu Yunshan and Sarah Slazenger, managing director of Powerscourt House and Gardens
