Dublin received a welcome revenue boost last weekend as delegates for the 16th International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders arrived in Dublin for the 5 day event. This is the first time this event has taken place in Ireland and it was opened by An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

This news comes as Ireland and Dublin move up the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) rankings for international conference destinations.

Ireland is now ranked 33rd (up four places) in the city destination rankings and Dublin has jumped nine places to number 23.

Helping Ireland build on this success, Fáilte Ireland is investing €3.7 million in business tourism this year including funding for a wide range of supports available to potential conference ambassadors. 

Welcoming the news and highlighting the benefits of the ambassador programme, Keith McCormack Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Business Tourism said -

“The rise of not only Ireland but Dublin in the ICCA rankings is great news for business tourism and for Ireland Inc.  We work hard with the convention bureaux and the Irish trade to win international conference business for Ireland and the news that we are regarded highly in the international arena is welcomed.

“Our conference ambassador scheme is bringing real results - delivering business and benefits to this country’s economic recovery. Since the start of the programme in 2009, our dedicated research team has identified and recruited 333 ‘conference ambassadors’ with the potential to bring in conferences worth millions to the Irish economy.

“The work is on-going and currently we are financially supporting work towards winning a further 157 conferences which, if realised, will provide a potential €111m boost to the Irish economy”.

Ireland is doing well in the area of business tourism as newly compiled Fáilte Ireland research shows that:

• 9/10 overseas conference delegates registered a “very satisfied” rating for their experience of Ireland as a destination for international conferences

• Almost 85% said that they would certainly recommend Ireland as a conference destination

• Almost nine in ten conference delegates said that they would also highly recommend Ireland as a destination for a holiday or short break

• 8/10 said that it was likely that they would return to Ireland for a holiday or short break in the future.