Conferences worth €37m to economy

International conferences hosted in Ireland over the first six months of the year are expected to have a €37m impact on the Irish economy, according to Fáilte Ireland.

A total of 114 international business events are taking place in Ireland in the first six months of the year, bringing a total of approximately 31,000 delegates with an overall estimated economic impact of €37m.

And businesses in the Republic of Ireland, and in particular those in the hospitality sector in the border counties, will share in approximately €2.5m in new business in just over two days of the upcoming G8 Summit, according to a new study published by Barclays, and carried out by the University of Ulster.

The survey is based on interviews with business people in Northern Ireland and an evaluation of evidence from the Gleneagles summit in Scotland.

Commenting on the Fáilte Ireland figures, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring said: “It is clear that the business tourism sector is in good health and bringing tangible results — delivering business and benefits to this country’s economic recovery.

“The added attraction this year of the Gathering has meant delegates are taking time to spend a few extra days in Ireland and in return bringing even more revenue,” he said.

For the first six months of this year, the top ten conferences alone will bring in 8,766 delegates and have an economic impact of almost €11m.

Head of business tourism with Fáilte Ireland Keith McCormack said: “With business visitors spending more than the average tourist, business tourism is lucrative for Ireland.

“So important is this sector, Fáilte Ireland has now identified and recruited a comprehensive team of ‘conference ambassadors’ from all sectors of Irish business and professional life and is actively supporting them in their bids to win top international events to Ireland,” he said.

“This conference ambassador programme is now really producing the goods with eight out of the top ten conferences listed today having been secured via the programme.

“Looking ahead to the second half of the year, the news is even better and, looking at the order books, we are expecting the next six months to bring even greater results,” Mr McCormack added.