This week, as part of a targeted 2020 sales drive, Fáilte Ireland hosted a custom-made workshop that provided Irish tourism businesses with an opportunity to pitch directly to a group of Canadian tour operators.
The workshop, which was hosted by Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Tourism Ireland, took place at The Johnstown Estate in Enfield, Co. Meath, on Thursday October 3.
Over 800 one-to-one meetings between 55 Irish trade and 18 Canadian tour operators took place over the course of the day, with the goal of securing business for 2020 and beyond.
The workshop was designed to help tourism businesses improve performance in the face of increasing uncertainty and the potential impact of Brexit by diversifying to other markets such as Canada.
An Important Market
Paul Mockler, head of commercial development with Fáilte Ireland, commented, "This sales drive seeks to capitalise on increased air access into Ireland from Canada and to develop opportunities for long haul destinations to include Ireland as a holiday experience. In 2018, over 220,000 Canadian tourists visited Ireland, spending an estimated €206 million, so the Canadian market is important for Ireland. We are also focussing on using Canadian's tendency to travel south between December to March on account of their harsh winters to extend Ireland's traditional tourism season by showcasing the breath of experiences available in Ireland outside of the summer months.
"Contacts and contracts made at these workshops will assist ongoing growth in Irish tourism in 2020. The Canadian buyers have the capacity to deliver significant amounts of visitors to Ireland throughout the year as Ireland continues to have very strong appeal as a destination."
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
