"Let's talk about Ireland"

You might have noticed on St. Patrick’s Day last week that Irish tourism’s great success as a leisure destination is reflected in the way in which the UK and other countries all over the world embrace and celebrate ‘Irishness’ on 17th March. On St. Patrick’s Day the warm welcome expected from the Irish is adopted by all as they sing, chant, dance and enjoy a pint or two of Guinness and a drink of whiskey. It’s all good fun and, just for one night, not much is taken seriously. But, for Irish business tourism, this perception of Ireland is missing some detail. The warm welcome and the love of the craic is just the beginning. At Tourism Ireland we know another Ireland, an Ireland that is impressive, efficient and effective; this is the real Ireland and we’re presenting it to the world.

It’s the Ireland of world-class meetings, events and convention hotels and venues with advanced communication facilities and experienced teams delivering fantastically executed, well-organised business events and exclusive hospitality during international games at world-class sports stadiums.

It’s the Ireland of buzzing modern cities, diverse destinations, exclusive attractions and stunning landscapes. Besides its friendly pubs and bars, for those in the know, a day in Dublin can be a morning of designer label shopping, an afternoon at an informative and engaging conference, before relaxing in a spa and then enjoying an evening of fine dining at any of the city’s wide choice of stylish restaurants.

The UK market is one of Ireland’s most important for business tourism and our role is to ensure that event organisers here understand the Ireland that we know so well. We’re using every resource possible, stake holder partnerships, exhibitions, events, promotions, familiarisation trips, videos, presentations, meetings, public relations, the internet and social media to bring the Ireland we know, to those that need to know there is an inspiring option for the UK that’s closer to home in so many ways than many other European destinations. It’s all about raising awareness of Ireland as a place to do business and to do business events well. We’re sharing our experiences, and by commenting on this blog, you can share your experiences of business tourism in Ireland with us; go on, tell us about the Ireland you’ve discovered. Over to you…

Tags: Business Tourism, conference, Convention Centre Dublin, destination, Events, Ireland, ireland business tourism, ireland means business, MICE, Tourism Ireland, Venues

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 11:03 am and is filed under Comment, Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.