The Emerald Isle has begun a major international push to attract more conferences to Ireland after enlisting the endorsement of Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
Ireland’s “Conference Ambassador Programme” provides the first point of contact for international event organizers with a dedicated team on hand to assist in making
introductions and providing practical assistance within the destination. The program is overseen by officials with the nation’s official tourism-development authority, Fáilte Ireland.
“Our ‘Ambassador Programme’ is bringing real results – delivering business and benefits to assist this country’s economic recovery,” said John Concannon, director of marketing, Fáilte Ireland. “Since the start of the program in 2009, our dedicated research team has identified and motivated 447 ‘Conference Ambassadors’ to bid for future conferences with the potential to bring in conferences worth €430 million to the Irish economy.”
Ireland has a variety of facilities, accommodations and professionalism to host any major conference. Drawing on the recent visit of the G8 economic summit to Ireland, the Meet in Ireland team are inviting more professionals to host their own global events.
Recent events in Ireland increasingly exceeded expected delegate numbers. The Euro Prevent Conference reported a 30 percent growth in delegates when they came to the Convention Centre Dublin in May 2012 while the 6th Congress of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation nearly doubled their delegate numbers for their Dublin conference.
“A recent win for Ireland has been the One Young World Summit 2014. Dublin will welcome over 1,500 youth leaders from around the word for an annual summit to develop solutions to pressing global problems,” said Concannon. “Local hosts were assisted both practically and financially to prepare the bid and host the site inspection. Work will continue to market the conference over the coming year.”
As part of the program, a wide range of professional supports are made available to conference ambassadors and international associations, including financial and practical assistance. More information can be found online at www.meetinireland.com/conferenceambassador.
