Tourism Ireland - Delegation to Canada
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Tourism Ireland, together with a delegation of 13 companies from Ireland and Canada, is under-taking a three-city sales blitz to Canada this week \\u2013 meeting with group tour planners and travel agents in the cities of Montreal, Ottawa and Halifax.\\xa0The sales blitz involves a B2B workshop and networking sessions in each city, where the participating tourism companies have the opportunity to sell to influential Canadian travel professionals \\u2013 telling them all about the many opportunities the island of Ireland offers for group and luxury travel and highlighting our heritage, culture and cuisine. \\xa0The delegation had the opportunity to meet with the Irish Ambassador to Canada, Jim Kelly, representatives of the Irish diaspora and influential business representatives, in Ottawa.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa02017 was the best year ever for tourism to the island of Ireland from Canada \\u2013 with visitor numbers increasing by around +11% over 2016.\\xa0Dana Welch, Tourism Ireland\\u2019s Manager Canada, said: \\u201cWe are delighted that so many key decision-makers from the group travel sector in Canada are taking the time to meet with our tourism partners this week, to hear about our fantastic tourism offering and the many opportunities for group and luxury travel to the island of Ireland. Travel agents and tour operators continue to be an important booking channel for Canadian holidaymakers \\u2013 so a key element of our strategy is working closely with the travel trade, both online and offline.\\xa0\\u201c2017 was the best year ever for tourism to the island of Ireland from Canada\\u2013 with visitor numbers increasing by around +11% over 2016. We are determined to ensure that success continues and our sales blitz this week provides an excellent platform to kick-start our promotional effort for 2019. The recent announcement by Aer Lingus about its new service from Montreal to Dublin for next summer is more good news for tourism to the island of Ireland as we prepare for 2019. Our message here in Canada is that it has never been easier to get to Ireland, with more airline seats from more gateways than ever before.\\u201d\\xa0
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