Tourism Ireland has announced it is to double its investment in the Chinese market to €1m, with the aim of growing Chinese visitor numbers to 200,000 by 2025.

 

The investment will be rolled out over the coming months and will include the doubling of its marketing team in China to 12 and the establishment of a presence in Hong Kong.

 

A high-level Ireland Advisory Group is to be created, comprising Chinese CEOs and senior outbound travel professionals. This group will meet each year in China and in Ireland to help maximise opportunities for tourism to Ireland.

 

The announcement was made by Tourism Minister Shane Ross ahead of Tourism Ireland’s largest ever sales mission to China, which kicks off on Monday, 6th May. A record 26 tourism businesses, as well as five island of Ireland tourism industry leaders, will visit Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shanghai and Beijing this week, to meet hundreds of travel agents and tour operators, as well as airlines and travel journalists.

 

On the back of last year's increase of 11% in Chinese visitors to Ireland, and following several years of steady growth, Tourism Ireland is ramping up its investment in China to €1m, as part of the Global Ireland initiative.