Ireland is on show this week at one of the largest travel trade fairs in the world, ITB in Berlin. Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald is lending her support to the tourism companies from Northern Ireland and across the island of Ireland who are joining Tourism Ireland at ITB, to grow our share of the important German travel market.
ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Börse) is an important B2B event, which attracted around 100,000 visitors last year – including leading tour operators, travel agents, airlines, travel media and content creators, not just from Germany but from all over the world. Germany is the third-largest market for tourism to the island of Ireland and the largest market from Mainland Europe. The island of Ireland welcomed more than 463,000 German tourists in 2023, who spent over €430/£374 million and stayed 4 million nights (source: CSO, NISRA).
Tourism Ireland is hosting 28 tourism companies from the island of Ireland on its stand, including 12 companies selling Northern Ireland – from premium hotels, whiskey distilleries and outdoor adventure providers to hidden gems of heritage. The three-day event provides a valuable opportunity for the tourism companies from Ireland to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business with the international tour operators and travel agents in attendance. Over the coming days, hundreds of commercial meetings will be conducted on the Ireland stand, which will, in turn, deliver overseas tourism business for the island of Ireland worth millions in 2025 and beyond.
