Finnish tourism bosses check out Kildare

A group of Finnish tour operators visited Kildare yesterday as part of a fact-finding visit.

The aim of the visit was to showcase Ireland’s Ancient East and to encourage them to include it in their programmes.

The group visited the Irish National Stud and Japanese Gardens, where they enjoyed a guided tour of the working farm and gardens.

They also had lunch in the Japanese Gardens Restaurant at the National Stud.

The group flew to Dublin from Helsinki with Norwegian Airlines and the visit was also seen as a great opportunity to highlight ease of access from Finland to Ireland.

“Tourism Ireland was delighted to invite this group of Finnish tour operators and travel agents to visit Kildare and Ireland,” Aileen Hickey, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for the Nordic Region, explained.

“Fact-finding visits like this are an important part of our annual programme of promotions in the Nordic Region, to increase awareness of Ireland among influential travel professionals and help secure a greater share of their business.”

Tourism is Ireland’s largest indigenous industry, responsible for more than 4% of GNP in the Republic of Ireland and employing approximately 220,000 people.

In 2016, we welcomed approximately 10.5 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland, generating revenue of about €5.4 billion.