Ireland organises its 10th UAE Sales Mission

Some of Ireland’s top travel, tourism and hospitality organisations visited the UAE this week for Ireland’s 10th annual Trade Mission. The island of Ireland has witnessed a 34 per cent increase in visitor numbers from the GCC over the past five years, and the UAE specifically remains one of the fastest growing emerging markets for the country. The visit was organised to further promote tourism, travel and bilateral connections between the two countries. The event took place in Abu Dhabi on January 27 and Dubai on January 28, more than 200 UAE companies met with the Irish business partners directly, to further strengthen relations and business opportunities by means of a series of 1-2-1 appointments, workshops and networking sessions.

The two-day event focused on two core themes: ‘Taste the Island’ – a three-year long festival that promotes the island of Ireland’s extensive catalogue of food and drink experiences to domestic and international visitors; and ‘Embrace a giant spirit’ – a theme launched by Tourism Northern Ireland to communicate a high quality experience to visitors that is recognisable as distinctively Northern Irish.

Siobhan McManamy, Director of Markets for Tourism Ireland, presented this year’s workshops, highlighting the Middle East’s impact on Ireland’s global vision 2025, “Experiencing year on year growth for the past five years is testament to draw of the island of Ireland as a holiday destination for UAE residents and locals. Visa-free travel for UAE nationals, coupled with strong relationships with the travel industry and media as well as co-operative partnerships with airlines will continue to make Ireland a must-visit destination for this region.”