A delegation led by Ireland Tourism Minister Catherine Martin (center in photo above) has just returned from a successful sales mission to Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Seventeen Irish tourism businesses participated in this largest-ever Tourism Ireland sales mission to the Middle East.

The delegation met with 200+ tour operators, travel agents and airline reps, along with luxury travel buyers from Saudi Arabia, to promote outbound tourism from the UAE to the Island of Ireland, and also launched the 2022 Dubai St. Patrick's Day Festival.

Ms. Martin said:

“Leading Tourism Ireland’s largest ever sales mission to the Middle East this week, I intend to support our efforts to bolster the recovery in our tourism sector. As we begin to emerge from the devastation wrought by COVID-19, it is imperative that we get the message out that Ireland is again open for business and that visitors know that a warm welcome awaits them when they travel here..."

Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said:

"Our sales mission gives our tourism partners from Ireland an excellent platform to inform and influence the travel professionals they meet about what the island of Ireland has to offer and, importantly, to encourage them to include the destination in their 2022 programmes..."

Tourism Ireland's Green Button campaign is running in the UAE now through April, and extensive promotion is also planned in partnership with Etihad Airways and Emirates, both airlines having maintained connectivity with Ireland during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ireland received approximately 75,000 visitors from the Middle East in 2019.