Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald supports tourism industry at world’s largest travel fair

05 November 2025

Tourism Ireland sets sights on 2026 with strong presence at World Travel Market in London 

1,200 meetings set to deliver overseas tourism business worth millions of pounds 

Economy Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald joins Tourism Ireland in London today (5th November), to promote Northern Ireland at the world’s largest travel fair, World Travel Market (WTM). 

As Tourism Ireland prepares for 2026, the organisation is mounting a significant presence at WTM this week – joined by tourism companies from around the island, including around 25 companies from every corner of Northern Ireland. WTM is the largest B2B event in the global travel and tourism calendar and marks the beginning of our promotional drive overseas for 2026.

While taking place in London, WTM is an excellent opportunity to meet tour operators and travel trade from around the world, including those serving nascent markets like China, India and the Middle East, as well as GB, Mainland Europe and North America. 

Tourism Ireland helps over 250 SMEs selling Northern Ireland through overseas events like WTM, where they connect with tour operators who bring visitors at scale. Over the coming days, the Northern Ireland tourism companies will engage in around 1,200 commercial meetings, delivering overseas tourism business worth millions of pounds. The tourism businesses from Northern Ireland – from premium hotels to whiskey distilleries, visitor attractions and hidden gems of heritage – will engage in meetings with international tour operators to negotiate and exchange vital contracts for 2026 and beyond, and ultimately to bring valuable tourists to Northern Ireland. 

Economy Minister, Dr Caoimhe Archibald said: “Tourism is a vital contributor to the economy. It is a sector I am keen to support and to help grow as we aim for tourism expenditure from our overnight visitors to exceed £2 billion by 2035. Events such as World Travel Market, the largest in the global travel and tourism calendar, are important to help achieve this.

“The event marks the beginning of Tourism Ireland’s promotional drive overseas for 2026, where Ireland is positioned as a must-see destination. The tourism businesses in attendance from across the north have the opportunity to meet with operators from across the world and bring tourists to our beautiful island. All of which boosts our economy and places us on the map as a location with a unique story to tell, renowned for our authentic experiences, landscape, heritage and culture.”

Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Our presence at World Travel Market is extremely important to kick-start our promotional drive overseas for 2026. We are delighted to have tourism companies from across the island of Ireland, including 25 from every corner of Northern Ireland, joining us at this year’s WTM. World Travel Market presents a unique opportunity for the travel industry to meet, network, negotiate and contract business for 2026 and Tourism Ireland facilitates that connection. We are targeting visitors who do more, see more, enjoy more – and therefore spend more – during their time on the island of Ireland, to help tourism businesses thrive.”

Tourism Ireland’s message at WTM is that the island of Ireland has so much to offer across regions and seasons. The organisation’s focus remains on marketing the island effectively overseas, giving visitors compelling reasons to choose this destination.