Killarney fair gives global platform to Irish tourism

The two-day Meitheal 2006 aims to showcase the country to overseas tour operators and was launched by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O’Donoghue, at the INEC at the Gleneagle Hotel.

Jointly organised by F·ilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, Meitheal is expected to generate over ¤800 million in trade as 300 overseas tour operators from all over the world meet with more that 500 Irish product providers.

Meitheal gives the Irish tourism industry “an ideal platform” to meet and do business with overseas tour operators, according to Minister O’Donoghue.

“It comes at a time when tourism enterprises are optimistic for the 2006 season, with firm expectations that the number of overseas visitors will break the seven million mark. Government investment in tourism services this year are at an all time high of ¤142 million up 14 per cent on 2005,” he said.

Almost 30 overseas markets were represented at this year’s workshop, with a particularly strong representation from the new and developing markets such as China, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic and India.

In all some 12,000 business appointments took place under one roof.

Irish tourism has managed to transform itself to the changing needs of visitors while also maintaining and building on its traditional success factors, according to Shaun Quinn, chief executive of F·ilte Ireland.

“This is an ongoing process and Meitheal plays an important role as Irish tourism businesses meet key and potential customers face-to-face.

“It is a highly efficient manner of both doing business and building market intelligence. Represented at Meitheal are the tourism cornerstones of guided tours and established attractions alongside innovative ventures such as eco tourism.

“This is truly the full spectrum of Irish tourism under one roof,” said Mr Quinn.

Relationships are crucial to all businesses, and especially so in tourism, he pointed out.

“We have increased the informal networking time available to overseas buyers and Irish tourism businesses over the course of the Meitheal weekend and this has been warmly received,” said Mr Quinn.

Feedback from a F·ilte Ireland survey of 800 Irish businesses showed that four out of five expect their volume of business to be up or steady on last year, which saw a very good performance.

Hotels are particularly enthusiastic about their prospects. “Ireland still has progress to make in terms of developing our attractions and activities, appropriate to market demand, and in a regionally balanced manner,” said Mr Quinn.

“This is a priority for F·ilte Ireland and the Tourism Product Development Review Group, chaired by Dan Flinter, will report in the coming months.

The work of this group will guide investment in tourism over coming years. Considering ¤2.2 billion was invested between 2000 and 2004, it is crucial that this strategy is future-proofed and delivers for tourism, especially in the regions and rural areas.”

Welcoming the business and networking opportunities provided for overseas trade at Meitheal, Paul O’Toole, chief executive, Tourism Ireland said he was optimistic that 2006 would be a good year overall for overseas tourism to Ireland.

“Given the continuing consumer trend towards late booking, it is still early to make a definitive call on the season, but in general, our trade partners are reporting good levels of business.

“We also have a number of factors working in our favour. For example, we have the highest ever level of direct air access into the island of Ireland this summer, in particular from Continental Europe,” said Mr O’Toole.

Europe was a huge driver of tourism growth last year and Tourism Ireland predicts double-digit growth from the market again this year, he added.

Direct services from the US into Shannon and Dublin airport have also been increased, which represent “a huge vote of confidence” in the strength of the Irish tourism market, according to Mr O’Toole.

“There will be an extra 12,000 air seats each week from our largest market in Great Britain, complemented by the well-developed ferry services across the Irish Sea,” added the Tourism Ireland chief executive.

His organisation also hopes to ensure an even wider audience for the island by capitalising on the worldwide roll-out of our new consumer website discoverireland.com, he revealed.

“We hope to leverage the increased profile for Ireland offered by Ryder Cup to attract holidaymakers in the years to come. “Overall we are aiming to grow overseas revenue to ¤4.2 billion driven by 8.5 million visitors to the island of Ireland,” said Mr O’Toole.

from : http://archives.tcm.ie/thekingdom/2006/05/11/story20455.asp