The 'Developing Tourism Relationships with China' conference took place on Wednesday 11 September 2019 at the King's Inns in Dublin.

Participants included Minister Kevin Moran TD and Chinese Ambassador His Excellency Xiangdong He along with a delegation of officials and travel buyers from China and representatives of Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland.

Topics discussed included:

• Developing the Irish visitor experience to meet the needs of Chinese visitors
• Understanding how festivals and events can increase tourism in the shoulder- and off-seasons
• Overcoming language and cultural barriers to build strong and sustainable business relationships between China and Ireland

In the days preceding the conference, Failte Ireland took the Chinese delegation on a tour of China Ready Accredited COTRI tourism experiences across Ireland.

About 100,000 visitors from China came to Ireland in 2018, most via tours that included the UK and other European countries as well as Ireland.