Yet another country has pivoted ‘beyond tourism’ in its approach to business events, post-pandemic.
Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland have combined to secure funding support of ‘Ireland’s Business Events Strategy 2030 – For Tourism and Beyond’, approved by Catherine Martin, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, & Media.
The investment will see the organisations actively targeting business and professional events which align to the social, economic, and environmental pillars of Irish society, prioritising sectoral ambition, supporting the Irish cities & regions, co-developing association & destination capacity into the pursuit of event impacts, while adopting core values of ‘Transformation, Sustainability, and Community’.
Business events are increasingly acknowledged for impacts that advance all of government and community agendas
Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Commercial Development, Paul Mockler, stressed that the impacts of business events continue to support Ireland’s tourism stakeholders (such as hotels), but extend to capacity building across the ecosystems critical to Ireland’s broader growth and societal agendas. And the organisation’s chief executive, Paul Kelly, speaking from the CityDNA Autumn Conference, highlighted the circular economy of business events “driving more innovation, more research, more connection, more business opportunity”.
The Strategy, however, illustrates the growing trend toward government awareness of business events as catalysts for attracting the knowledge, investment, and talent required to advance a knowledge and creative economy. The investment into Fáilte Ireland acknowledges the connective tissue required to secure these assets.
Dublin will host the following industry events in January / February 2025:
- BestCities Global Alliance Global Forum
- ICCA Association Impact Masterclass
- Destinations International Global Leaders Forum
Resources:
View / download ‘Ireland’s Business Events Strategy 2030 – For Tourism & Beyond’ here
