Killarney to host major German tourism event

DER Touristik Academy will be attended by 200 travel agents and travel journalists

A team from DER Touristik are in Killarney this week to meet with tourism providers in both accommodation, activities and attractions. Photo: Valerie O'Sullivan

Killarney has been successful in its bid to host a tourism and travel conference next year run by one of the largest tour operators in Mainland Europe.

The German DER Touristik Academy will take place in the INEC from April 3 to 6, 2022, and will be attended by 200 travel agents and travel journalists. It will be the first overseas event by DER Touristik since the onset of the pandemic and is being supported by Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and Limerick Travel.

A team from DER Touristik are in Killarney this week to meet with tourism providers in both accommodation, activities and attractions. The 200 attendees will participate in pre academy tours across Ireland, organised by Fáilte Ireland in conjunction with Limerick Travel present a valuable opportunity for the Irish tourism industry to sell itself to the German market.

Paul Keeley, Fáilte Ireland’s Director of Regional Development, said events like these can provide a valuable opportunity to showcase what Ireland has to offer to one of the country's most important mainland European markets.

"For Irish tourism to recover and grow in the long term it is imperative that there is a strong message that Ireland offers a high-quality experience, diverse tourism experiences and a wide selection of safe accommodation choices," he said.

"By winning the opportunity to host these influential agents and journalists next April we can continue to drive long-term demand for Ireland and ensure that they can confidently encourage their customers to choose Ireland as a holiday destination when they return to Germany."

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, Kevin Keogh, Der Touristik, Nadine Lehmann, Tourism Ireland Manager Germany, Dino Steinkamp, Der Touristik, Paul Kelly, Chief Executive of Fáilte Ireland.

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said it is a tremendous honour for Killarney to have won this prestigious event in the face of competition from other destinations. 

"Tourism Ireland is delighted to have played its part in securing this event, which confirms Killarney and Ireland as a world-class destination. Germany is our third-largest source of visitors and in 2019 we welcomed 749,000 German visitors to the island of Ireland. This travel academy presents a superb opportunity to show these influential travel agents what’s on offer here and will help increase German visitor numbers, as we restart overseas tourism in 2022 to the island of Ireland.”