Asia Briefing: Giant Chinese travel agency sees potential growth in Ireland

Travelling in China is next to impossible without Ctrip these days. It's the country's largest online travel agent and it offers services to more than 90 million members.

So it's positive news indeed that Ireland has been named "best potential destination" for 2014 at an awards ceremony in Shanghai, organised by Ctrip.

To triumph in the category, which judged the destination offering the most potential for Chinese travellers, Ireland fended off competition from Turkey, Sweden, South Africa, Dubai, Kenya and Queensland.

Over the past two months, almost three million Ctrip members took part in an online survey, nominating their favourite travel destinations.

China is becoming one of the most important travel markets in the world, and outbound travel from China has grown at an exceptionally high rate over recent years, with the number of international trips growing significantly and forecasts for the next decade suggesting an even greater rise.

The award was presented to Tourism Ireland at the fifth annual Ctrip "Best Tourism Destination" awards in Shanghai, attended by about 300 travel industry leaders from around China, including tour operators, travel agents, airlines and travel media.

Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said he believed the China market represented a significant opportunity for Irish tourism and said the award was a positive indication of the increasing awareness of Ireland among Chinese travellers.

“We are committed to growing visitor numbers from China – from approximately 17,000 visitors in 2012 to 50,000 per year, over the coming five years,” he said. “I am confident that this award will enhance the reputation of the island of Ireland and help to attract more Chinese visitors in 2014 and beyond.”

Tourism Ireland has offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Access to Ireland from China is set to improve this year, although there is still no sign of a direct flight.

Etihad Airways operates from Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu to Dublin – via Abu Dhabi, and Etihad will double its current daily service to Dublin, from July 15th this year. Emirates also connects Dublin with four Chinese cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong – transferring via Dubai. Emirates will also double its daily flights to Dublin, from September 1st.