Galway Convention Bureau is looking for people throughout the region to become ‘Conference Ambassadors’. The Bureau promotes Galway as a destination for international meetings, conferences and events and is currently working on a pipeline of events worth €20m that will bring 11,000 people to Galway over the next four years.
Today’s relaunch of the Conference Ambassador programme marks a drive to recruit industry leaders who can help showcase Galway on the national and international stage as a premier conference destination and place to do business. The Convention Bureau team is particularly looking to speak to people from sectors such as academia, business, medicine, engineering, community and many more, who have the influence and profile to bring events that are relevant to them to Galway as the host destination, and offers a wide range of supports to assist in the process.
Signing up for the programme and bringing an event to Galway offers several exciting benefits for a Conference Ambassador, including:
a significant boost to their professional profile among their peer group
a showcase for their work and their team’s achievements
the chance to foster networking that can spark funding or collaboration opportunities
the opportunity to contribute to the local economy and tourism industry
Niamh Stack, Manager of Galway Convention Bureau encourages anyone who has international association or organisational links abroad and who would like to bring an international conference to Galway to contact their team.
“We will help with planning right from the start. We offer guidance on the various practical and financial supports available. We are here to make the process easier for you. Galway has a fantastic business tourism product with much to offer a very competitive market. We want to work with more Conference Ambassadors to help make a big impact,” she said.
Paul Mockler, Head of Commercial Development at Fáilte Ireland says the programme offers huge potential for Galway.
“Business events bring high economic and knowledge value to Ireland. We currently have a pipeline of business worth in excess of €1 billion, as far out as 2032.
“Each conference delegate is worth €1880 to the Irish economy, up to three times the value of a leisure visitor, but by bringing international thought leaders to Ireland for their events, we demonstrate Ireland’s prowess in many fields while at the same time learning from global leaders.
“Fáilte Ireland invests in our regional convention bureaux as business events benefit the country regionally and out of the main tourism periods,” he added.
The Galway Convention Bureau team helps Conference Ambassadors tackle the three biggest challenges of event planning - time, resources and budgeting, by offering a range of free supports, including independent advice on all aspects of organising an international conference, from bidding to staging; Advice on access to vital financial support through Fáilte Ireland schemes; Sourcing of venue and accommodation options informed by valuable local knowledge; Introductions to local contacts and suppliers across the city and county
The diverse range of events which the Bureau’s team is helping in the year ahead include the AHSRAE Region XIV Chapter Regional Conference & Young Engineers in ASHRAE Leadership International Conference Galway 2023, the 10th EuroGOOS (European Global Ocean Observing System ) International Conference and next year’s Conference of the Association of Critical Heritage Studies.
Conference Ambassador Dr Tokie Laotan-Brown recently had the support of Galway Convention Bureau when she successfully bid for the Association of Critical Heritage Studies (ACHS ) annual conference that’s set to bring up to 800 delegates and will be worth over €1m to Galway next year. She’s recommending the experience: “This was a key part of our success in bringing this event to my home town. I’ve been amazed at the level of support the Bureau provides, from the bidding process to helping plan the itineraries for our visiting delegates. It helps me to concentrate on tailoring the content of the conference to our audience. I would really recommend the programme to anyone interested in bringing their network to Galway”.
Mayor of Galway City Cllr Clodagh Higgins praised the work done by the Convention Bureau Team:
“The Galway Convention Bureau is delivering for the city. They have the expertise to help make each event they support a success. They have aided many Conference Ambassadors in their journey to organise excellent conferences from a really diverse range of industries and sectors.
“If anyone is in a position to host or help Galway win a Business Tourism event I would recommend they get in touch with the Convention Bureau and join the Ambassador programme which helps support our local economy,” he said.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the Conference Ambassador programme can check out galway conventionbureau.com
