Tourism Ireland has reported that air access to Ireland is up for winter 2019, including flights from two of the country’s biggest source markets, Great Britain (at 103% of 2019 levels) and North America (at 112% thereof).
The latest figures show that hotel occupancy is also ahead of 2019 levels, albeit with the caveat that the industry is operating in a new reality, with 13% of rooms under contract for humanitarian reasons.
‘Eager For Recovery’
“In our first full year post-pandemic, every tourism business is eager for recovery,” said Alice Mansergh, chief executive designate of Tourism Ireland.
“When we talk to tourism operators across the island of Ireland, we know that overseas tourism is playing a vital role.”
Tourism Calendar
In preparation for 2024, Tourism Ireland is attending World Travel Market (WTM) in London this week, with around 75 tourism companies from the island of Ireland on its stand – from premium hotels, whiskey distilleries, and jaunting car tours to visitor activities.
WTM is the largest B2B event on the global travel and tourism calendar.
Over the coming days, around 2,800 meetings will be conducted on the Irish stand, with Tourism Ireland claiming that this will deliver overseas tourism business worth millions of euro to Ireland next year.
‘An Estimated 2,800 Commercial Meetings’
“We are delighted to have around 75 tourism companies from across the island of Ireland joining us at this year’s WTM, for an estimated 2,800 commercial meetings with international tour operators,” said Mansergh.
“We facilitate connections between the world’s leading tour operators and diverse tourism businesses across the island of Ireland, helping introduce overseas visitors to delightful experiences on our island and strengthening the spread of the economic and social benefits that tourism brings.”
