The Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions is holding its two day annual conference in Co Clare today, the focus of which will be the future of the sector.
Over 200 delegates from the island of Ireland will attend the conference - the largest gathering in the six-year history of AVEA conferences.
The AVEA said this shows the desire for support amongst the industry during the current challenging times.
Over the next two days, delegates will hear from tourism leaders including Jenny de Saulles (Director of Sector Development Fáilte Ireland), Alice Mansergh (CEO of Tourism Ireland), Eimear Callaghan (Head of Experience and Industry Development, Tourism Northern Ireland) and Eoghan O'Mara Walsh (CEO of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation.)
International speakers include the Head of Hampton Court Palace Rachel Mackay as well as Rich Neville, who led the operations teams for ABBA Voyage and the BBC Earth Experience in London.
"We have been inundated with members of our sector wishing to join our conference today, with a waitlist in place; this demonstrates just how much the industry appreciates the ability to come together today and to work together towards building business and developing knowledge and skills for all visitor attractions and experiences," said Catherine Flanagan, the CEO of the AVEA.
Ms Flanagan said that recent industry figures have showed improvements in year-on-year visitor numbers however, the industry is still 42% behind pre-Covid levels.
"Over the next two days of our conference, we will be learning about best practices from award-winning international visitor experiences and attractions, learning how best to use AI tools to improve the business offering and learning about plans for future promotion from Failte Ireland and Tourism Ireland and how the industry can best work co-operatively with those promotions," she stated.
"Post-covid is a new landscape for Irish tourism operators, while it has some new and additional challenges, it also lays out fresh ground for new opportunities, new ways to develop and do business and new ways to shine a light on Ireland for the international visitor market," she said.
The conference is also placing a major focus on sustainable tourism.
"We will also place a focus on the industry's environmental responsibility, social equity, economic health and cultural vitality. A number of experts in each of these areas will share their expertise and knowledge with our conference delegates as we work towards building a robust yet sustainable tourism model," the AVEA CEO added.
