Tourism Ireland is leading a trade mission of 14 Irish companies to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong as part of a 2016 sales mission to tap the rapidly expanding outbound tourism market from China.
In 2015 there were 45,000 Chinese visitors to Ireland, which represented an increase of 18 per cent year on year, and Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons has said the aim is to increase the number of Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland to 50,000 per year by 2017.
"Our sales mission is a key element of our promotional programme in China, to win a greater share of the four million Chinese visitors who travel to Europe each year," Gibbons said ahead of the mission.
China is certainly an alluring market, even as economic growth slows. According to the UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation), China is the world's largest outbound travel market - with some 120 million people travelling overseas last year.
Direct flights
There are currently no direct flights between China and Ireland, and implementing a direct air link between Ireland to either Beijing and Shanghai is always a key goal for tourism promoters.
Also, because Ireland is not part of the Schengen Agreement, visitors cannot go from Ireland and the UK to most of the big tourism destinations in mainland Europe, such as Paris or Rome, without getting a separate visa.
However, under the British Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS), Chinese visitors can use a single-visit visa to visit both the UK and Ireland.
The visit kicks off in Beijing on Monday and over the week will target top Chinese travel agents and tour operators in the capital, as well as Shanghai and Shenzhen and, for the first time on the sales mission, Hong Kong.
The delegation will engage with Chinese agents currently selling the island of Ireland as a destination, or who have a plan to sell the destination, and there will be a programme of workshops, presentations and networking events.
“It will give our Irish tourism partners a platform to inform and influence the Chinese travel trade on all that the island of Ireland has to offer and, importantly, encourage them to include the destination in their brochures and programmes,” said Gibbons.
Growing profile
Ireland's profile is relatively high in China. Earlier this year, Ireland won a best travel destination award from Travel & Leisure magazine, a bilingual publication with 550,000 circulation.
And efforts to promote Ireland in the country were given a boost by the appointment of James Kenny as country manager for China, based in Shanghai. He speaks Mandarin fluently and knows the country well, and has also been involved in bringing Chinese students and tourists to the island of Ireland. Tourism Ireland has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.
Companies from the island of Ireland taking part in the sales mission are Chinabridge, EG Travel, Green Ireland International, Guinness Storehouse, Ireland UK Chinese Travel, Kildare Village, Limerick Travel and Manor House Hotels & Irish Country Hotels.
Also taking part are National Trust Giant’s Causeway, Stena Line, Spirit of Ireland Executive Travel, The Merrion Hotel, Titanic Belfast and Wiiya International.
