Tourism Ireland, together with 15 tourism companies from the island of Ireland, is preparing to blitz four major cities in China this mont, as part of its 2017 sales mission to grow tourism from China. The
The sales mission – which takes place 24-28 April – will target top Chinese travel agents and tour operators in the key cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
Tourism Ireland stated that travel agents continue to play an important role in China, with travellers preferring to use a travel agent for a number of reasons, including convenience, language barriers, visa preparation and knowledge gaps. The objective of the upcoming sales mission is to engage with Chinese travel professionals who are currently selling the island of Ireland, or who have strong potential to sell the destination – and to encourage them to extend their Ireland offering, or to include Ireland for the first time, in their brochures and programmes.
Business links between the tourism companies from the island of Ireland and the influential Chinese travel professionals will be strengthened during the sales mission, through a busy programme of workshops, presentations and networking events, according to Tourism Ireland
Commenting on the upcoming sales mission, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: "Our sales mission is a key element of our promotional programme in China, to win a greater share of the 4 million Chinese visitors who travel to Europe each year. It will give our tourism partners a platform to inform and influence the Chinese travel trade on all that the island of Ireland has to offer and, importantly, encourage them to include the destination in their brochures and programmes. Tourism Ireland is committed to growing Chinese visitor numbers to Ireland and our sales missions play a significant role in helping us do so."
