A total of 340 tour operators from 30 countries are attending a conference in Killarney today aimed at promoting Ireland as a premier tourist destination.
Opening the Ireland Travel Trade Workshop, the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, Mr John O'Donoghue, said the past three years have been "tough and testing times" for tourism both in Ireland and abroad. Mr Donoghue said: "This year is continuing the trend, first with Iraq and now SARS."
However he said consumer confidence in the industry was beginning to pick up in the United States and that Tourism Ireland "is primed to bolster its advertising campaigns there to capture whatever business this upturn brings".
The 340 overseas operators at the meeting are estimated to have a combined buying power of just under a €1 billion, and many will use the conference to buy Irish holidays for 2004.
The Ireland Travel Trade Workshop, now in its fourth year, is the State's biggest tourism promotion event.There are 640 members of the Irish tourism trade attending the two-day conference.