Ireland meets the Middle East with first Virtual Edition of Annual Trade event

Ireland meets the Middle East with first Virtual Edition of Annual Trade event

UAE, Dubai, 9th March 2021: Tourism Ireland's annual GCC Sales Mission event turned virtual this year, with Virtual Ireland Meets the Middle East 2021. The aim of the event was to connect the island of Ireland's industry experts with high-end travel agents and tour operators from across the Middle East (including UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Turkey), with workshops providing an opportunity for the island to share key updates and information to market the destination in the Middle East for 2021 and beyond.

 The event took place on 8th and 9th March with over 300 travel agents and tour operators attending and joining the one-to-one video appointments and networking sessions as well as auditorium panel discussions and webinars. The intention of which was to further strengthen relations and business opportunities in the region, especially given travel agents and tours operators are the primary booking channel in the Middle East for long-haul destinations.

In combination, the workshops and one-to-one appointments across the two days highlighted the luxury, outdoor and adventure offerings on the island as well as Ireland's overall culture and exceptional culinary offerings.

Siobhan McManamy, Director of Markets Tourism Ireland, highlighted: “Our aim with this event was to further strengthen our strong relationships with the travel industry