� IN FOCUS l WTM LONDON Tourism Ireland hails record figures
Tourism Ireland will be at WTM London, celebrating year-on-year growth of 7.8% in overseas visitor numbers for January-August 2018. Niall Gibbons, chief executive
of Tourism Ireland, said the increase represented an extra 520,500 overseas arrivals when compared with the first eight months of 2017. “This was the best ever month of August for Irish tourism, with more than 1.2 million arrivals,” he said. “Particularly welcome in today’s
figures is the continued strong performance from North America, with an increase of 13.2%. “A number of factors are
working in our favour, including more airline seats than ever before, from more gateways across the US and Canada. “We’ve also seen excellent
results from Mainland Europe, up 10.5% on January-August last year, with particularly strong performances from Germany (21%) and Italy (13.4%). “Tourism Ireland has prioritised
North America and Mainland Europe, as markets which offer a strong return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure.”
He added: “While we welcome
the fact that arrivals from Britain are up almost 2.5%, it’s too early to say if this represents a turnaround in the long-term trend. The impact of Brexit on outbound travel from Britain, therefore, remains a concern. “We are determined to ensure
that tourism growth continues. Our aim is to grow overseas tourism revenue in 2018 to €6 billion, for the island of Ireland.” The tourist board will be sharing its WTM stand with more than 50 exhibitors from Ireland and Northern Ireland, including hotels, visitor attractions, local tourist offices, touring routes, coach companies and transport providers.
tourismireland.com
Stand UKI100
Hastings Hotels will showcase the seventh addition to its portfolio, which opened in June 2018 after a two-year refurbishment of an office block. The Grand Central Hotel
in central Belfast is Northern Ireland’s tallest hotel, and cost an estimated £53 million. It is described as a
“contemporary reincarnation of a Victorian hotel” and has new branding that incorporates a
seahorse – a nod towards Belfast’s coat of arms – and a celebration of the city’s maritime history.
Hastings highlights Grand Central Hotel in Belfast It has 300 rooms including
10 suites with views over the city, and a cocktail lounge on the 23rd floor called the Observatory. Other properties in the Northern
Ireland-based group include Culloden Estate and Spa, Europa Hotel, Stormont Hotel, Slieve Donard Resort and Spa, Everglades Hotel and Ballygally Castle.
hastingshotels.com/grand-central Stand UKI100
Exhibitors will promote Irish culture and heritage
Heritage Island will join fellow exhibitors on the Tourism Ireland stand to highlight its group of 90 attractions and heritage towns in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The marketing group undertakes marketing and promotional
30 TravelGBI | November 2018
activities on behalf of its members, who include historic houses, castles, monuments, museums, gardens, caves and distilleries. Other companies exhibiting at
WTM who can offer products with a Irish heritage theme include escorted tour operator Culture and
Heritage Tours, part of Albanne Tourism; inbound operator The Irish Tourism Group; and Abbey Ireland & UK, a destination management company specialising in leisure tourism for the travel trade and groups. Stand UKI100
WTM IN BRIEF
w Dalata offers update about its hotel brands
The Dalata Hotel Group – Ireland’s largest hotel operator – will be one of the stand-sharers on the Tourism Ireland stand. It has a portfolio of 39 hotels and operates the Maldron Hotel and Clayton Hotel brands. The Maldron Hotel South Mall Cork City is due to open in December 2018, following the opening in September of the Maldron Hotel
Kevin Street, Dublin.
dalatahotelgroup.com Stand UKI100
w Irish museum reaches an epic milestone
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum celebrated its 250,000th visitor in October. The museum in Dublin’s docklands tells the story of 1,500 years of Irish history, and the global legacy of 10 million Irish emigrants. Described as the world’s only fully digital museum, it has interactive galleries with touch screens, motion sensor quizzes and audio and video installations
that bring Irish history to life.
epicchq.com
DID YOU KNOW
Next year’s venue for The 148th Open will be Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. Tourism Ireland says The Open will provide a “superb platform
to shine a spotlight on golf in Northern Ireland once again, showcasing what’s on offer here
to golfers around the world”.
tourismireland.com
travelgbi.com Stand UKI100
©Justin Kernoghan
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