Over 300 tour operators from 30 countries are meeting in Killarney, Co Kerry today to book Irish holidays for 2004.
The Ireland Travel Trade Workshop is the country's biggest tourism promotion and comes amid indications that business lost here because of the war in Iraq may be won back through late bookings.
Between them, the 340 international tour operators gathered in Killarney have a combined buying power of €900m. They will not spend all that money booking holidays in Ireland, but the aim of the Bord Failte and Tourism Ireland-organised trade forum is to maximise the slice of that cake which this country will get.
Over the next two days, tour operators from all over the world will meet representatives of more than 600 Irish tourism companies, from hotels to car hire to visitor attractions. It is estimated that there will be 14,000 one-to-one meetings, each lasting 15 minutes and all of which have been pre-arranged.
The workshop is taking place at the National Events Centre in Killarney. It is the first time the event has been held outside Dublin and it comes amid indications that business lost earlier this year due to the war in Iraq may now be won back.
Tourism Minister John O'Donoghue says there is a sense that consumer confidence is returning while Tourism Ireland is ploughing €2m into what it is describing as a recovery campaign, including TV advertising in the US.
