Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland; Mark Mohan, St Patrick’s Country; Dr Tim Campbell, The Saint Patrick Centre, Downpatrick; and Mary Lennon, Mourne Mountains and Ring of Gullion, at World Travel Market in London.

A major tourism push for 2017 kicked off recently, as ten Northern Ireland tourism businesses travelled to London, to join Tourism Ireland at this year’s World Travel Market (WTM). WTM heralds the beginning of Northern Ireland’s promotional drive overseas for the 2017 season.

Over the three days, the Northern Ireland companies engaged in thousands of meetings with GB and international tour operators – to negotiate and exchange vital contracts for 2017. Organisers estimate that more than £2.5 billion’s worth of business was done at last year’s WTM.

With about 180 countries and regions all vying for business at WTM, Tourism Ireland aimed to stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of the global media and travel professionals in attendance. The organisation highlighted what Northern Ireland has to offer potential visitors around the world, including our Game of Thrones connection, as well as iconic experiences like Titanic Belfast, the Giant’s Causeway and our unique National Trust properties.

Overseas tourism delivers about £454 million per year for the Northern Ireland economy, helping to sustain valuable employment in local communities.

Now in its 37th year, World Travel Market is the largest B2B event in the global travel and tourism calendar, with more than 50,000 travel professionals from around the world and 3,000 international media in attendance.