Booking a break to Ireland, whether for business or pleasure can be difficult if you’re not a regular visitor. However, travel buyers need stress no longer, especially with Fáilte Ireland by their side. Fáilte Ireland supports the tourism industry in Ireland and promotes Ireland as a tourist destination through their website http://www.discoverireland.ie/. They offer their services to any business involved in tourism including accommodation providers, activities and attractions, food and drink suppliers, festivals, other events, tour operators, and transport operators, marketing Ireland as a whole, both domestically and internationally and encouraging good practice within the sector.

There are around 140 Tourist Offices and Information Points supported by Fáilte Ireland advisers who can offer help and assistance both with planning a break in Ireland and whilst you are there.

Although the current Fáilte Ireland was only formed in 2003 it can trace its history back through various organisations to the early 20th Century. The 12 Authority Members are appointed by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. The day to day running of the organisation is undertaken by a management team headed by Chief Executive Paul Kelly.

In April 2017, they announced €11.5m funding to assist in the refurbishment and development of ten key Office of Public Works (OPW) projects including €3m to Dublin Castle to create a new museum and viewing platform at The Record Tower. Another €3.5m of funding is spent supporting festivals.  In 2016, 246 festivals and similar events were supported by Fáilte Ireland, 205 of which were part of the Regional Programme intended to support domestic tourism.

Fáilte Ireland administers the National Quality Assurance Framework which aims to improve quality across the tourism sector and allow customers to identify Quality Assured businesses. In 2016, revised hotel regulations prompted the development of new hotel classification criteria.  The new classifications will start to be applied from March 2017.

Business Tourism is another area that Fáilte Ireland encourage. In 2015, it was worth €669m to the Irish economy.  For businesses looking to host a conference or trade fair in Ireland they have set up a dedicated website at http://www.meetinireland.com/.

In order to determine where tourists are going, how Ireland is perceived and what trends are worth following Fáilte Ireland also prepares a number of statistical reports on tourism in Ireland annually, allowing you to follow the trends and book a break that’s certain to tick all the boxes.

The team from Fáilte Ireland sponsored our Connections Luxury event at the Powerscourt Hotel in County Wicklow, Ireland. To find out more about how you too can take part in our next generation of events for the luxury travel market, please drop me a note to micaela@weareconnections.com.