More than 400 top international buyers from 40 different countries, including the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, China, India, and the Middle East, have been hearing all about the island of Ireland at ExploreGB 2017, this week.
As part of its ongoing partnership with VisitBritain, Tourism Ireland – together with 13 tourism companies from the island of Ireland – took part in ExploreGB, VisitBritain’s flagship international event that took place in Brighton. The two-day workshop involved a series of pre-scheduled, one-to-one appointments, showcasing Britain and the island of Ireland to the influential audience of international buyers and helping to deliver additional itineraries and brochure pages featuring both destinations.
ExploreGB was also an ideal opportunity for Tourism Ireland to highlight the British-Irish Visa Scheme to buyers in attendance from China and India. The scheme enables leisure and business travellers from both countries to visit Ireland and the UK on a single visa.
Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive, Tourism Ireland (pictured above with Deirdre Wells, Chief Executive, UKInbound) said: “We were really pleased to be part of ExploreGB once again this year – which provides another important platform for Tourism Ireland and our partners to showcase and sell the island of Ireland to key international travel buyers. We already work closely with VisitBritain, particularly in long-haul markets such as China and India, to target people travelling to Britain and encourage them to visit the island of Ireland as part of their trip, and vice versa. A key message for us to buyers from China and India is the British-Irish Visa Scheme, which enables visitors from those countries to visit both Ireland and the UK on a single visa of either country.”
