Flying Kingdom flag for tourism
KERRY TD and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin joined Tourism Ireland and some 70 Irish tourism businesses – including Killarney Jaunting Cars and Eviston House Hotel – at World Travel Market ( WTM) in London last week.
WTM heralds the beginning of Ireland’s international promotional drive for the 2019 season.
During the three-day travel fair, the Irish companies have been engaging in thousands of meetings with British and international tour operators – to negotiate and exchange vital contracts for 2019. Organisers estimate that £3.1 billion’s (about €3.5 billion’s) worth of business was done at last year’s WTM.
Ireland’s strong presence at World Travel Market is particularly important this year, in the context of Brexit and its implications for Irish tourism, in 2019 and beyond.
“I was delighted to be able to attend World Travel Market, which provides an excellent platform for Tourism Ireland, and the participating tourism enterprises, to highlight Ireland’s world-class tourism experience to international tour operators,” said Minister Griffin.
“It’s great to see so many tourism enterprises from all parts of Ireland conducting hundreds of business meetings and doing a great job of selling tourism to the global travel trade,”
“While there are challenges for Irish tourism as a consequence of Brexit, I am confident that the tourism industry can adapt quickly to enable continued growth from international markets. Great Britain is, and will remain, a very important market for tourism to Ireland,” he said.
The Irish Government is committed to maintaining the strong business and cultural links that have existed between our two countries for centuries. I must commend Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and all our tourism partners for their concerted efforts to address the implications of Brexit and to keep the island of Ireland high on international travel wish lists,” said Minister Griffin.