The proposed National Conference Centre will be key to the success of plans to develop Ireland's business tourism industry, Fáilte Ireland chairwoman Ms Gillian Bowler said yesterday.

The national tourism development agency was unveiling a new business tourism forum, headed by former Jurys Doyle Hotels managing director Mr Peter Malone, to help grow the €400 million industry in Ireland. The group, which met for the first time yesterday, will help plot the strategic direction of what Fáilte Ireland says is the highest yielding sector of the tourism industry.

"As a business tourism destination, Ireland has a good international reputation and is well positioned for strong growth in the next few years," Ms Bowler said.

"It is very timely that we are now introducing this high-level focus on the development of the sector in line with government development of the necessary infrastructure," she added, referring to the ongoing tender process for a national conference centre.

Fáilte Ireland said international research indicated that the key issues for the business market were travel safety, an oversupply of conference venues, economic issues encouraging smaller and shorter meetings and an increasing number of older and women delegates.

Ms Bowler said Ireland's ability to grow market share would depend on its ability to differentiate itself as a safe destination with strong cultural characteristics, environmental qualities and excellence of service. She said the State's current rate of growth in business tourism - around 7 per cent annually - was good but hampered by a lack of adequate facilities.

Mr Malone will be joined by other senior industry figures on the forum. They are: Abbey Tours managing director Mr Brian McColgan; Mr Ray Carroll, the chief executive of the K Club; incentive business travel specialist Ms Anne Wold-Graham, who is a director of TG&A International; Irish Hotels Federation chief executive Mr John Power; Mr Jim Deegan of the University of Limerick's National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies; former Enterprise Ireland chief Mr Dan Flinter; Mr Paul Keeley, director of marketing at Fáilte Ireland and Mr John Rafferty, head of product marketing at Fáilte Ireland.