Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau in partnership with Fáilte Ireland have reported a record year in 2019 with a jump from €7.5m worth of business tourism in 2018 to a whopping €11.6m in 2019 benefiting the Shannon Region.
This is a tremendous achievement in the absence of a large capacity Conference type venue. As part of the Bureau’s strategic plans for the future, it is still pushing hard for the development of a large multi-purpose conference venue in the region. This will ensure the region continues to gain its share of this fast-growing market both nationally and internationally.
These business results were discussed at a Bureau planning meeting, which outlined how the Midwest can capitalise on lucrative business and Sports tourism opportunities. High on the agenda was the potential for a proposed large-scale venue.
Speaking about the 2019 results, Tony Brazil, Limerick Travel and Chairman of the board of Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau said,” Business Tourism is incredibly important to Ireland and indeed the Shannon region. Each delegate is worth €1,600 to the local economy, in other words, each 1,000 person event can contribute €1.6 million to the local exchequer.”
Karen Brosnahan, Manager of the bureau outlined how important partnership is to winning business. “We have tremendous support in this region from our academic institutions in UL, LIT, MIC, and LSAD whose academic staff and conference teams work tirelessly with the bureau and Fáilte Ireland to bid for and secure international association conferences. in 2020 we are working in partnership with the chambers of commerce and corporate companies locally as part of our “bring your meeting home” campaign, utilising the fantastic support both practical and financial available through our partners in Fáilte Ireland to anyone attracting an international conference to the region.”
Paul Mockler, Head of Commercial Development, Fáilte Ireland spoke about how Failte Ireland is supporting the regional bureau on its journey,
‘Fáilte Ireland has a strategic objective to grow business regionally and seasonally, and business tourism is a key element of that. We are delighted to have supported the Bureau and its members to achieve such strong numbers in 2019. Our commitment to growing the business won for regional Ireland is demonstrated through the continuous investment in the Bureau and through our Meet in Ireland activities.’
The Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau is a public-private partnership. The bureau works in partnership with Fáilte Ireland to win international business meetings and events for the Shannon region and is celebrating its 17th year in business.