Top US tour operator Collette Vacations has arrived in Northern Ireland this week to host its prestigious President’s Club Programme.
This influential group has the potential to deliver thousands of additional visitors to Northern Ireland.
The President’s Club is Collette’s membership programme for its executive level top sellers. The group will spend 4 nights in Northern Ireland and started their week by hosting their annual conference in Lough Erne Resort in Enniskillen.
Supported by Tourism Northern Ireland and Tourism Ireland the attendees will embark on trips across Northern Ireland showcasing all that the region has to offer for visitors from the US.
Established in 1918, Collette Vacations is a premier travel company currently programming tours of Northern Ireland with the potential to deliver further significant business to the region.
Following the conference on Monday, the group attended a community dine around experience in local restaurants in Enniskillen including 28 at the Hollow, Francos, Crowes Nest, Firehouse and Saddlers.
Throughout the week, the group will embark on a series of familiarisation trips allowing the members to experience Northern Ireland’s food, accommodation and visitor attractions first hand. They will also attend showcase events in a number of Northern Ireland’s premier venues.
Jaclyn Leibl-Cote, President, and Chief Customer Experience Officer at The Collette Group said:
“We are thrilled to visit Northern Ireland during our upcoming summit with Collette team members and some of our wonderful partners. Northern Ireland has some the island’s most stunning spots like the Giants Causeway, but also it is a place that truly personifies resilience. After everything the industry went through in the past few years, it was a natural choice; Northern Ireland has rebuilt itself and tracing its rich history through Belfast and beyond will tell a complete story of Ireland for all of us.”
John McGrillen, Chief Executive of Tourism Northern Ireland, commented:
“The Collette President’s Club’s visit to Northern Ireland is a real opportunity for the region to show what it has to offer for the US market, which is a significant target market for Tourism NI. It will allow the visitors to experience the quality of product on offer and drive interest in Northern Ireland.
“With major investment in new experiences such as the Titanic Belfast refurbishment and the imminent opening of the Titanic Distillers visitor attraction we are optimistic for the future. We also have a healthy pipeline of upcoming experiences, such as the new phase of The Gobbins and the Belfast Stories project in the city centre.”
Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said:
“Tourism Ireland is delighted that Collette Vacations has selected Northern Ireland as the host destination for its 2023 conference and ‘reward trip’ for its prestigious ‘President’s Club’ of top-producing group travel organisers. We are pleased to support this visit and would like to extend a very warm welcome to Northern Ireland to the 200+ top sellers of Collette’s group travel programmes, who are visiting from all over the United States.
“As we continue to rebuild overseas tourism to Northern Ireland, this is a really important opportunity for our local tourism industry partners, as we showcase what’s on offer here to these influential travel organisers. We know that the travel organisers will have a greater understanding of Northern Ireland after their time here, and, with their newly acquired first-hand knowledge, they will return home ready to promote and sell the destination with greater enthusiasm than ever.”
