Tourism bosses believe a massive gathering of travel agents in the Republic this weekend will generate €2 million for the economy.
More than 1,700 delegates from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, India, China and Britain will make up the largest travel agents' conference to be held in the State.
They are coming together in Dublin as Australasia's largest retail travel agency, Flight Centre, holds its annual global talks in Europe for the first time.
The Republic is the first European destination to host the event, and Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Séamus Brennan said: "It presents us with an excellent platform to showcase the island of Ireland as a premier destination and to develop our contacts with many long-haul markets which will be increasingly important to our tourism business."
It is estimated the conference is worth €2 million directly to the Irish economy and will encourage further tourism growth here.
Paul O'Toole, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said Australasia is a significant and developing market for the island of Ireland. "There is a noticeable shift in global travel trends with an increase particularly in long-haul travel from the Middle East and the Far East.