13 February 2012
Tourism Ireland, in association with Visit Britain and Visit Scotland, successfully hosted today the first of three UAE Travel & Trade workshops organised for Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Kuwait. In working together and investing in the workshops, Tourism Ireland, Visit Britain and Visit Scotland are demonstrating their commitment to supporting the travel trade in the UAE and reflecting the value of the industry to tourism in Britain and Ireland.

Building on recent promising developments in direct access routes between the UAE and Ireland, the workshops are designed to further enhance Ireland's visibility and awareness among travel trade partners for 2012. The mission offers trade in the UAE an opportunity to make and build on relationships with new and established companies from Ireland, who are here to showcase their latest travel and tourism offerings.

 The recent launch of daily Emirates flights from Dubai to Dublin in conjunction with Etihad's existing 10 flights per week from Abu Dhabi to Dublin have strengthened ties between the UAE and Ireland.

The Visa Waiver scheme, which entitles holders of a category C British Visit Visa to enter Ireland once they have entered the UK, is also contributing to Ireland's popularity as a destination for UAE travellers. These developments have encouraged even more Irish suppliers to come to the UAE and participate in the 2012 workshops.

This year suppliers from Ireland include top five star hotels, leading golf courses, luxury DMC's and a designer shopping village.

Ireland remains a popular destination for Middle East travelers and the message to the trade over the 3 day workshop is;

  • Ireland: Family friendly, warm and welcoming

  • Ireland's ease of access from the UK makes it a great add on to an itinerary that includes England, Scotland or Wales

  • An easy going, safe destination filled with fun and exciting attractions and activities, available on all budgets.

    In addition, Tourism Ireland will announce a busy programme of events and attractions for Ireland in 2012 at the workshops. Among these highlights will be the Volvo Ocean Race finale in Ireland, echoing the success of the Volvo Ocean Race Abu Dhabi stopover in January. 6 Arab dhows will be transported to the finale in Galway Ireland as part of the cultural exchange. Northern Ireland have also unveiled the 2012 'Your Time, Our Place' campaign which includes celebration of the centenary of the Titanic's maiden voyage. Ireland's National Day, St. Patrick's Day on March 17th will see the UAE join the global 'greening' phenomenon- where iconic buildings are turned green to salute Ireland. This year, in conjunction with the greening the Burj Al Arab, Tourism Ireland plans to host a series of quirky publicity and trade events

    To promote and highlight the many new developments for 2012, Tourism Ireland have rolled out a new global advertising campaign 'Jump into Ireland'. The new campaign is designed to reflect the immersive nature of a holiday in Ireland with iconic experiences and warm, friendly people.

    Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland;

    "We are targeting further growth in 2012 and our goal is to welcome over 9 million overseas visitors to the island by 2015, exceeding the record year for tourism of 2007. The new campaign will play a major role in this effort as part of an extensive overseas marketing programme."

    - Ends -

    DUBAI workshop:             Monday 13th February

                                                   09:00 - 13:00

                                                   Ritz Carlton, Salon 1,2, 3

                                                   Gate Village, DIFC

                                                   Tel: 971-43722222

    ABU DHABI workshop:    Tuesday 14th February

                                                   17:30-20:00

                                                   Rocco Forte Hotel, Meeting Room 1,2,3

                                                   Sh.Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street

                                                   Tel: 971-2 6170000

    KUWAIT workshop:          Wednesday 15th February

                                                   17:30-20:00

                                                   JW Marriott, Al Thuraya Ballroom

                                                   Al Shuhada Street, Safat

                                                   Tel: 965-22455550

    About Tourism Ireland
    Tourism Ireland's role is to grow overseas tourism revenue and visitor numbers to the island of Ireland. Tourism Ireland helps to influence product development on the island by sharing insight on global tourism trends and the changing need of overseas consumers. The organisation works closely with the two tourist boards on the island, Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, which are responsible for product and enterprise development and marketing to tourism consumers within the island of Ireland.

    Tourism Ireland also works in close co-operation with industry partners and the travel trade, online operators, media, air and sea carriers overseas to encourage consumers to 'Jump Into Ireland'.

    NI 2012

    For more information on the programme of festivals and events in Northern Ireland in 2012,

    Please visit http://www.nitb.com/ni2012 

    The Short-stay Visa Waiver Programme in brief

    • This pilot programme will initially run from 01 July 2011 until October 2012.

    • Holders of UK general visa will have them recognised for short stay visits to Ireland. A general visa is defined as a short stay visit visa from the UK and includes tourism and business visas.

    • Visitors will be allowed to stay in Ireland for up to 3 months or until their UK visa runs out, whichever is the shorter.

    • The programme applies to all holders of UK visas from designated countries who have cleared UK immigration first of all. It will not apply to holders of a UK transit visa.

    • The countries included in the programme are: Bahrain, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Montenegro, Oman, People's Republic of China, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.

    • The maximum stay at any one time is 90 days.

    • There is no limit to the number of times an individual can visit Ireland as long as it is within the validity of their UK visa.

    Annique Labuschagne
    Tourism Ireland
    00971 4 316 6170
    annique@tourismireland.ae
    www.discoverireland.com/ae

    • © Press Release 2012