Published on : Tuesday, February 5, 2019
As part of the trip, the Ireland companies including hoteliers, visitor attractions and destination management companies exchanged views and concluded contracts with almost 300 tour operators and travel agents in Mumbai, New Delhi, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Also, the delegation had talks with travel journalists and bloggers.
The key purpose of the sales mission was to connect with all Indian and UAE travel professionals who endorse and sell the island of Ireland, and to hearten them to extend their island of Ireland offering, or to include Ireland in their brochures and programs for the first time. The British Irish Visa scheme which permits Indian travelers to visit both Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, using a single visa, was emphasized, as was the Visa free scheme for UAE nationals.
To quote Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Markets, “Our sales mission is a key element of our promotional programme in India and the UAE, as we kick-start our activity for 2019. It gives our tourism partners a platform to inform travel professionals in both markets about what the island of Ireland has to offer and, importantly, encourage them to include the destination in their brochures and programmes. ”