~ Tourism Ireland sets sights on 2026 with strong presence at World Travel Market in London ~
~ 1,200 meetings set to deliver overseas tourism business worth millions of pounds ~
A delegation of Belfast tourism companies partnered with Tourism Ireland in London this week, to promote Northern Ireland at the world’s largest travel fair, World Travel Market (WTM). The Northern Ireland tourism companies in attendance were also joined by Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald.
WTM is the largest B2B event in the global travel and tourism calendar and marks the beginning of Tourism Ireland’s promotional drive overseas for 2026. It provides an excellent opportunity to meettour operators and travel trade from around the world, including those serving nascent markets like China, India and the Middle East, as well as GB, Mainland Europe and North America.
The tourism businesses from Northern Ireland – from premium hotels to whiskey distilleries, visitor attractions and hidden gems of heritage – took part in around 1,200 meetings with international tour operators to negotiate and exchange vital contracts for 2026 and beyond and ultimately bring valuable tourists to Northern Ireland.
Economy Minister, Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: “Tourism is a vital contributor to the economy. It is a sector I am keen to support and to help grow as we aim for tourism expenditure from our overnight visitors to exceed £2 billion by 2035. Events such as World Travel Market, the largest in the global travel and tourism calendar, are important to help achieve this.
“The event marks the beginning of Tourism Ireland’s promotional drive overseas for 2026, where Ireland is positioned as a must-see destination. The tourism businesses in attendance from across the north have the opportunity to meet with operators from across the world and bring tourists to our beautiful island. All of which boosts our economy and places us on the map as a location with a unique story to tell, renowned for our authentic experiences, landscape, heritage and culture.”
Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Our presence at World Travel Market is extremely important to kick-start our promotional drive overseas for 2026. We were delighted to have 25 tourism companies from every corner of Northern Ireland, join us at this year’s WTM. World Travel Market presents a unique opportunity for the travel industry to meet, network, negotiate and contract business for 2026 and Tourism Ireland facilitates that connection. We are targeting visitors who do more, see more, enjoy more – and therefore spend more – during their time on the island of Ireland, to help tourism businesses thrive.”
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