Tourism operators gather in Co Kildare

Tourism operators from around Ireland, including the Irish National Stud & Gardens andLullymore Heritage & Discovery Park, met with the Tourism Ireland team from Mainland Europe, at a networking event in the Osprey Hotel in Naas.

At the event, the various tourism operators provided updates and news of interesting developments at their properties and visitor attractions; and Tourism Ireland outlined details of its extensive promotional programme which is under way throughout 2017, to grow tourism from Mainland Europe."

Mainland Europe is now the largest single source of holidaymakers and revenue for the island of Ireland – delivering 34% (€1.8 billion) of all overseas tourism revenue and approximately a third of all overseas visitors (3.3 million) in 2016.

Finola O’Mahony, Tourism Ireland’s Head of Europe, said: “We were delighted to have the chance to meet with representatives of the tourism industry and to hear directly about their latest developments and how their business is doing. It also afforded us the opportunity to share details of the busy programme of promotions which Tourism Ireland is undertaking in Mainland Europe, to build on the success of 2016 and continue to grow overseas visitor numbers to the island of Ireland in 2017."