More than 150 tourism representatives from Ireland and the USA attended a reception in Dublin to mark 90 years of CIE Tours.
Founded in 1932 to cater for visitors to Ireland for the Eucharistic Congress, the company is headquartered in New Jersey, USA, where its brand is synonymous with travel to Ireland.
CIE Tours coaches are a familiar sight on the highways and byways of Ireland where the company now offers more than 40 all-inclusive guided tours hosted by nearly 160 knowledgeable tour directors. In recent years the company has expanded its offering to include custom travel with self-drive and private driver/guide programmes.
Elizabeth Crabill, CEO, CIE Tours said the company expects to bring 30,000 people to Ireland this year as the world's travel markets rebounds from the pandemic.
"Our approach is to find the unusual and the unique and our ethos is to support rural enterprises and local economies wherever possible. Our tours bring visitors to parts of Ireland that would not otherwise benefit from coach tours. With CIE Tours visitors each spending an average of €3,300 per person we are making a significant contribution to the Irish economy and to the sustainability of our partners businesses".
CIE Tours works with over 1,000 suppliers – 800 of whom are in Ireland. "We invest heavily in customer relationship management, surveying all our visitors each year. Their guest feedback is invaluable to us as a company and to our hotel, coach operators and visitor attraction partners in terms of improving their offering every year. Our quality survey has played a key role in developing Ireland's tourism offering and raising standards across the sector", said Ms Crabill.
Minister Catherine Martin TD said that CIE Tours has played a leading role in promoting Ireland in North America and has brought over 3 million visitors to Ireland since its establishment.
"Tourism is a key contributor to economic prosperity with over 260,000 people employed in the sector, prior to the pandemic. After two difficult years, the sector is rebounding, led in part by CIE Tours and its commitment to promoting Ireland as a world-class destination. CIE Tours has been a leader in Irish Tourism for 90 years and, as part of CIE Group will continue to play a leading role in supporting sustainable growth in the sector," Minister Martin said.
