Fáilte Ireland targets China and Russia in bid to boost visitor numbers

Tourists from far-flung parts of the globe such as Russia, China, and the Middle East are being targeted in a bid to boost visitor numbers from emerging markets.

A group of 45 of the most prominent travel agents from Russia, China, Brazil, India, the Middle East, and South Africa have arrived in Ireland and are being pitched to by members of Ireland’s tourism industry.

The drive to grow visitor numbers from these regions takes place as Fáilte Ireland hosts a workshop for these target markets in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, today.

The tourism body has said it expects more than 3,690 direct appointments between Irish tourism businesses and these top travel buyers will take place over the course of the day.

Ireland is an increasingly popular destination for tourists from India, China, South Africa, and the Middle East, with numbers steadily growing over the past number of years.

Three years ago, the Government introduced a short-stay visa waiver programme, which allows short-term visitors from certain countries to visit Ireland if they have a UK visa allowing entry for 180 days.

Fáilte Ireland has said the short-term visa initiative has led to a 70% increase of 70% in the numbers of visitors from these countries between 2010 and 2013.

Recently, Ireland and Britain signed a visa agreement that will allow international tourists to apply for one travel permit to visit both countries. This will apply to Chinese visitors from the end of October and, subsequently, to those from India.

Speaking ahead of the workshop, Martina Bromley, head of sales with Fáilte Ireland, said the countries targeted will be the fastest-growing markets for Irish tourism in the next decade.

“The Asia-Pacific region has the potential to be one of the fastest growing outbound regions, expanding by 6.5% on average over the next 15 years,” she said.

“Visitors from these markets stay twice as long as the average holidaymaker, have the highest spend per visit, have a higher propensity to travel throughout Ireland, and make significant economic contributions to numerous tourism sectors.”

Tourism Minister Paschal Donohoe said the Government’s introduction of the visa programme highlighted the commitment to growing the tourism sector.