Ireland meets the ME

The maiden virtual roadshow ‘Ireland meets the Middle East’ saw two days of fruitful meetings with over 350 agents from the Middle East.

Aisling McDermott, Manager Middle East & Asia, Tourism Ireland

We are delighted about how our first virtual roadshow went, it was a huge success and we received a lot of positive feedback from the buyers and suppliers that took part. They really felt that they received very useful information to take them forward to support their clients in their holidays in the future. So our aim at the event was to further strengthen our relationship with the travel trade and to showcase the very best that the island of Ireland has to offer.

Nasir Jamal Khan, CEO, Al Naboodah Travel

It has been very informative to attend ‘Ireland meets the Middle East’, the first virtual annual trade event. It was impressive to see island of Ireland offering something totally unique to the Middle East and implementing all the newly required health and safety measure without compromising the holiday experience. The virtual annual trade event was well organised by Tourism Ireland and the TravTalk team.

Jamal Abdulnazar, CEO, Cozmo Travel

We have been working very closely with Tourism Ireland and I must say they have always come out with some very good programmes to enhance and build the confidence of the traveller by conducting these virtual events. They have always come out more than expected and we have always seen them going beyond expectations

Eóin McGrath, Luxury Leisure Sales Manager, Hastings Hotels Group

It was a superb event – the buyers were hyper engaged in Ireland. The quality of the buyers was A-class, and the majority were familiar with Ireland, and indeed Belfast. Buyers were mainly interested in access – how to get to Northern Ireland. They were also interested in knowing about visa requirements and our vaccination rollout campaign.

Nour Aridi, Account Manager GCC, Kildare Village

Participating in the Tourism Ireland virtual roadshow was a great opportunity for Kildare Village to showcase our extraordinary shopping destination with not only our existing partners across the GCC region but also with potential partners. We have seen a lot of positive feedback. Our   luxury outdoor shopping offering has been very well received.

Emer Mortell, Head of Sales, Dream Escape

Everyone I have met was very interested in hearing more about Dream Escape, which is a leading luxury travel design company and destination specialist offering travel experiences to Ireland. They have all requested for some sample programmes that they can use to promote the company and destination, so it’s a win-win for Ireland Inc.

Flip Robinson, Owner, Giant Tours

It was a wonderful show. It was great to meet people online and I had fantastic chats with some buyers and they showed a lot of interest in Ireland. On the whole it was very good.

Emma Rose Power, Sales and Marketing Coordinator, House of Waterford Crystal

We have been asked about what our visitor experience is, information on our factory tours and what our rates are. We will be sharing further information by email. The event has been great – I think the virtual platform and booths will be very popular going forward with tradeshows. It’s great to have something so interactive while being virtual.

Evan Butler, Director Sales and Marketing, Trump International Golf Links and Hotel Doonbeg

A lot of the agents that I was talking to were aware of Ireland, they knew about Dublin but they didn’t know outside of Ireland.

James Hayde, Business Development Manager, Sheen Falls Lodge

Overall, it was a very good event. Their main requirements seemed to be green areas, mountains, lakes and not city destinations, which is fantastic, as that is what we offer.