Some of Connemara’s best-loved attractions are in London this week trying to win millions of euro in holiday business for the west of Ireland.
Kylemore Abbey & Gardens, Killary Fjord Boat Tours and Galway city-based Overland Ireland Tours are among about 80 Irish tourism businesses on the Tourism Ireland stand at World Travel Market (WTM), the biggest trade event in the global travel calendar.
3,600 meetings in a few days
Around 3,600 commercial meetings are planned on the Ireland stand over the coming days. Irish hotels, resorts, visitor attractions, whiskey distilleries and touring companies will sit down with British and international tour operators to agree contracts for 2027 and beyond, deals that could be worth millions of euro to the Irish economy.
Although the fair is in London, it draws buyers from all over the world. Operators serving China, India, the Middle East, mainland Europe and North America are all expected to visit.
The event marks the start of Ireland’s overseas promotional push for 2027.
‘Extremely important’
Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Markets & Partnerships, said the agency’s presence at WTM was “extremely important” for kick-starting the year ahead.
She said Tourism Ireland’s job at the fair is to put small and medium-sized tourism businesses from across the island in front of the global tour operators who shape holiday programmes, and that the deals done there help drive visitor numbers and support tourism businesses all over the country.
Sights and sounds of Ireland
This year’s Ireland stand features an installation of Irish flora and natural materials designed by Worm, an East London floral studio owned by two Irish women from Dublin and Cork. There’s also an immersive audio installation with the sounds of the sea, forests and cosy pubs, along with spoken-word pieces by Irish poets.
Representatives at the stand this week include Jessica Ridge of Kylemore Abbey & Gardens, Nicole Matus Diaz of Killary Fjord Boat Tours, and Ellen O’Keefe and Karina Duffy of Overland Tours, pictured with Julie Wakley of Tourism Ireland.
Overseas tourism brought in more than €6.4 billion to the island of Ireland in 2025.
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