IT HAS been a year of recovery for Tourism Ireland. After a tough 2009, this year’s arrival figures have seen an encouraging increase of 30 per cent from last year.
From the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have remained the top source markets for the country. According to Aiveen Ryan, market manager of Tourism Ireland in the GCC, the region is still considered as ‘new’ markets and has been identified by the authority as having high potential for its long term strategy.
”The business sector continues to perform well due to the string trade and investment relations especially in construction, IT and education” she said.
However this trend is changing with more travellers looking for shorter-length trips and multi- destination - which is good for Ireland as a whole.
“The rich culture and heritage of Ireland has long been a key attraction for visitors from the Middle East and there are many literary and cultural festivals with readings, workshops, debates and performances for visitors to enjoy,” said Ryan.
“We have found common ground in our different cultures as the tradition of storytelling has been very central in both Irish and Arabic communities.”
Ireland also offers great value to visitors and Dublin was recently highlighted as one of the best value cities in Europe.
Several trade missions are planned for 2011, together with VisitBritain, the first one scheduled for February 7 to 11, 2011.
Earlier this year, Etihad increased its Abu Dhabi - Dublin route services from four to 10 per week acknowledging the importance of this Irish market among Arab travellers.