The Irish Ambassador to the United Kingdom Mr. Daniel Mulhall hosted a group of Cork tourism bodies at The Embassy of Ireland in London last night which included Cork hoteliers, County & City Council, Cork Airport, Cork Chamber and The Cork Convention Bureau.
 
This event, in association with Tourism Ireland, attracted over 30 of London’s top meeting, incentive, corporate and leisure buyers. The event showcased the very best of Cork’s tourism product and experience and focused the minds of these influential buyers. A particular emphasis centred around the fact Cork was only an hour from London and now can be accessed through its four major airports  - Heathrow, Stanstead, Gatwick and the most recent addition of London City.
 
Launched last October City Jet now connects London City Airport with Cork 18 times a week. City Jet offers morning, afternoon and evening services and boasts once you arrive in London it takes just 25 minutes to get to ‘Big Ben’. City Jet customers enjoy complimentary snack bar service along with 23kg of luggage free of charge.
 
This event is a new direction for Cork Tourism Partners who are collectively working together to sustain, develop and grow Cork as destination of choice. This initiative compliments the recently launched Tourism Strategy and may be used as a blueprint for future international promotions and route support.
 
Leading the partners, Seamus Heaney Chairman of the Cork Convention Bureau said: “This is a collective approach where all our tourism stakeholders have come together to ensure Cork is ideally positioned to compete on the International stage. Route support is an integral part of ensuring connectivity is maintained between Cork and international markets. Such supports will ensure Cork is ideally positioned when competing for the overseas visitor against other global destinations. Equally such activity compliments the goals laid out in the recent strategic plan for Visit Cork.”
 
David Boyce of Tourism Ireland said: “This Initiative is also underpinned by the fact that Cork now sits at the very epicentre of the Irelands two major tourism offerings, the Wild Atlantic way and Ireland’s Ancient East. Projected to drive tourism growth by 28% over the next five years, this will present new challenges for Cork to capitalise on this very welcome expansion.”
 
The establishment of the Visit Cork team as part of the collective strategy is intended to meet those challenges and together with the Cork Convention Bureau to drive leisure and business tourism for the entire region.