200 top German travel professionals will descend on Killarney today for a major travel conference.
DER Touristik, a leading German tour operator, is hosting its prestigious annual travel academy at the INEC.
The event is being supported by Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, and Limerick Travel.
The DER Touristik travel academy is taking place at the INEC, Killarney up until Wednesday.
It’s always held in leading destinations, and Killarney beat off rival bids from a number of other top destinations to host the 2022 event.
Following a devastating two years for tourism, the DER Touristik travel academy coming to Killarney is seen as another important step in restarting tourism from Germany to Ireland.
As well as generating valuable off-season business, giving the local economy a significant boost before the high season, the travel academy always helps boost German visitor numbers to the host destination.
Around 200 top German travel agents, as well as influential travel journalists and senior managers from Der Touristik, are participating.
As well as attending the travel academy at the INEC, delegates took part in specially designed pre-conference tours across the Ireland to enhance their knowledge of the experiences and attractions on offer.
Germany is Ireland’s third-largest source of visitors, and in 2019 Ireland welcomed over three-quarters of a million (749,000) German visitors to the island of Ireland, whose visits delivered €459 million to the economy.
