Creating ‘Celtic Connections’ for the island of Ireland

A delegation of tourism businesses from the island of Ireland is in Glasgow this week, taking part in Tourism Ireland’s first promotion of 2023 in Scotland – a B2B workshop and networking event with travel professionals from Scotland and the north of England.

Twenty-seven (27) tourism businesses from Ireland – including hotels, visitor attractions and regional tourism organisations – had the opportunity to meet, and do business with, influential tour operators and travel agents, as well Scottish travel and lifestyle journalists. 

This year, Tourism Ireland is continuing to roll out its ‘twinning’ initiative – which involves overseas markets 'twinning' with a specific region or area on the island of Ireland. Great Britain is twinned with Donegal and Derry-Londonderry, so a strong delegation of tourism businesses from the North-West helped place a special focus on Donegal and Derry-Londonderry at the workshop, which included highlighting ease of access from Scotland.

Judith Cassidy, Tourism Ireland’s Acting Head of Great Britain, said:“We’re really pleased that so many of our tourism partners from the island of Ireland, and particularly from the North-West, have joined us in Glasgow this week, highlighting our tourism offering to the influential tour operators and travel agents in attendance. This workshop is a really good opportunity to showcase new experiences and also remind these tour operators and travel agents why Ireland is the ideal choice for their clients for a short break or holiday in 2023.” 

Tourism Ireland’s workshop and networking event was timed to coincide with Celtic Connections, Scotland’s premier winter music festival, so it was also a good opportunity to highlight our music and culture, important components of the holiday experience in Ireland, particularly for our ‘culturally curious’ audience. 

PIC SHOWS: (front, l-r) Eimear Kearney, Titanic Belfast; Karen Henderson, Visit Derry; Yvonne McIlree, Titanic Hotel Belfast; Ian Baillie, Stena Line; and Shane Clarke, Tourism Ireland; (back, l-r) Terry Kelly, Killeavy Castle Estate; Patrice Lavery, Hastings Hotels; Jason Powell, Causeway Coastal Route – Shaped by Sea and Stone; Ghilian Campbell, Visit Armagh; Aoife Thomas, Holiday Inn Express Derry-Londonderry; David Douglas, Derrie Danders Walking and Audio Tours; Bethany Atkins, City of Derry Airport; Gwen Beveridge, Tourism NI; Vicky Green, Andras Hotels; Jackie Geddis, Visit Belfast; and Linda Duncan, Tourism Ireland, at Tourism Ireland’s Celtic Connections workshop in Glasgow.