Tourism Ireland leads biggest ever sales mission to China

Tourism Ireland's biggest ever sales mission to China is underway this week as a delegation of 29 senior representatives from 24 tourism enterprises from around the island of Ireland sets off on a targeted mission to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong .
By The Newsroom
Published 8th May 2018, 07:00 GMT
Updated 7th Jun 2018, 17:39 GMT
Aoife McVeigh of Visit Belfast, with Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons, Olga Wang, Embassy of China in Ireland, and James Kenny, Tourism Ireland, pictured at the briefing for the 2018 China sales missionAoife McVeigh of Visit Belfast, with Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons, Olga Wang, Embassy of China in Ireland, and James Kenny, Tourism Ireland, pictured at the briefing for the 2018 China sales mission
Aoife McVeigh of Visit Belfast, with Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons, Olga Wang, Embassy of China in Ireland, and James Kenny, Tourism Ireland, pictured at the briefing for the 2018 China sales mission

The aim is to increase the share of a rapidly growing tourism with Northern Ireland companies participating including Hastings Hotels, Titanic Belfast, Giant’s Causeway, Stena Line and Visit Belfast.

The mission comes ahead of the launch of two new flights to Dublin from Beijing and Hong Kong – eight direct flights, representing around 1,700 airline seats each week, for the first time ever from the Asia Pacific Region to the island of Ireland.

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This week’s sales mission will involve meetings with representatives of both Hainan Airlines in Beijing and Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong, to discuss how to drive demand for and maximise the promotion of both services.

The mission will also involve meetings with hundreds of leading Chinese travel agents and tour operators.

As well as highlighting the new flights to Dublin, a key message for Tourism Ireland this week is the British Irish Visa Scheme – which allows Chinese nationals to visit both Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, using a single visa.

Tourism Ireland aims to grow Chinese visitor numbers to 175,000 per year, by 2025 an increase of 150% on 2017.

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“China is the largest outbound travel market in the world and one that Tourism Ireland is committed to growing over the coming years,” said Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons.

“In 2017, we welcomed an estimated 70,000 Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland; the introduction of direct flights from Beijing and Hong Kong is a major game-changer and offers a real opportunity for us to build on this number.

“We are confident that we are in a strong position to grow this emerging travel market in 2018 and over the coming years.”

The organisation’s activity in China involves establishing and building relationships with influential intermediaries, including the travel trade, airlines and media – highlighting our natural attractions, cities, castles and proximity to Britain.

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In conjunction with Tourism NI and Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland has developed and successfully piloted a new ‘China Ready’ training programme – with more than 20 tourism operators around the island of Ireland participating to date, to learn about the specific requirements and needs of Chinese visitors.

Related topics:Tourism IrelandHong KongChinaNorthern Ireland