Members of the local tourism industry attended a Fáilte Ireland training programme at the Sheraton Hotel in Athlone last week as part of their preparations to sell Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands to influential international buyers and tour operators at Meitheal, Ireland’s largest annual travel trade show, which takes place at CityWest Hotel in Dublin April 2 and 3, 2019.
Following the launch of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands in April 2018, Fáilte Ireland’s newest regional experience brand will be officially unveiled to over 300 overseas buyers and tour operators from 20 countries at Meitheal next month. Almost 30 members of the tourism industry from across the Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands region will attend the trade show for the first time to showcase their tourism offering with the aim of being scheduled on the tour operators’ future itineraries, which will be sold to tourists around the world.
"The Most Important Tourism Trade Event In Ireland"
Speaking at the training programme, Paddy Mathews, head of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands at Fáilte Ireland, said, "Meitheal is the most important tourism trade event in Ireland and presents Irish tourism businesses with a unique opportunity to sell their experiences to a host of influential overseas buyers with a view to generating more business and bed nights in their local area. We are delighted to unveil Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands to overseas buyers and to have tourism businesses from all nine counties in the region represented at this year’s event for the first time. [This] training will go a long way to ensuring that they are primed and ready to make the most of the opportunity Meitheal provides to attract more tourists to Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands.
"The Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands regional experience brand is central to Fáilte Ireland’s ongoing work to unlock the potential of tourism in the Midlands and we believe it can drive growth in the visitor economy for the benefit of all in the region. Since the launch of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands last year, we have been working closely with industry in the area and [this] training programme will look at how local tourism businesses can maximise the opportunities presented by Meitheal.”
Meitheal is organised by Fáilte Ireland to enable the Irish tourism industry to meet directly with influential overseas buyers from around the world.
© 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.
