Fourteen tourism enterprises from Ireland - including Waveline Cruises which is based in Athlone - travelled to Stuttgart recently, to join Tourism Ireland for this year’s CMT (Caravan, Motor, and Tourism ) Fair. At the fair, the busy Tourism Ireland stand took first prize for best stand, beating off stiff competition from 2,000 other exhibitors.
CMT is the largest consumer holiday promotion in Germany, attracting over 240,000 visitors and 2,000 exhibitors each year, including leading travel writers, tour operators, and travel agents, as well as many thousands of German holidaymakers looking for ideas and suggestions for their next holiday destination. The nine-day travel fair provided a valuable opportunity for the participating Irish companies to showcase and sell their product and to communicate what is unique about Westmeath and the island of Ireland as a great holiday destination.
Zoë Redmond, Tourism Ireland’s manager for Central Europe, said: “2013 was a record year for German visitors to Ireland and Tourism Ireland will be rolling out an extensive programme of promotional activity throughout 2014 - to keep the momentum going and build on that growth. CMT in Stuttgart is our first major promotion of 2014, providing an excellent opportunity to spread the word about all the great things to see and do in Ireland and to raise awareness about the exciting programme of events taking place, including Limerick City of Culture and the Giro d’Italia.”
Germany is the largest outbound travel market in the world and the third-largest source of overseas visitors to the island of Ireland.
