Six senior travel agents from Australia and New Zealand have spent the past week on an intensive familiarisation (fam) tour of Ireland organised by Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and Emirates. The itinerary, which concluded on 11 November, spanned marquee sites from Wicklow’s Powerscourt Estate to Kilkenny Castle, as well as accommodation inspections and meetings with DMCs specialising in chauffeur-driven executive programmes.
Although primarily aimed at leisure sales, the visit underscores growing air-lift via Dubai and Doha that also benefits corporate mobility flows. Emirates’ double-daily DXB-DUB service connects seamlessly with its A380 flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, offering an alternative to trans-Pacific routings for Asia-Pacific assignees bound for Irish headquarters.
![Tourism Ireland Hosts Australian & New Zealand Agents to Boost 2026 Inbound Trips]()
Tourism Ireland’s market manager for Australia/New Zealand, Sofia Hansard, said the fam trip equips frontline consultants to “sell Ireland with confidence as an incentive and meetings destination.” Australian outbound travel to Europe is projected to surpass 2019 levels by 7 percent in 2026, with Ireland targeting a €200 million share.
Companies running APAC to EMEA rotations should monitor group-rate negotiations: several hotels visited (including Kilkea Castle) indicated they would extend fam-trip promotional rates to small corporate meetings confirmed before 31 January 2026.
Although primarily aimed at leisure sales, the visit underscores growing air-lift via Dubai and Doha that also benefits corporate mobility flows. Emirates’ double-daily DXB-DUB service connects seamlessly with its A380 flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland, offering an alternative to trans-Pacific routings for Asia-Pacific assignees bound for Irish headquarters.
Tourism Ireland’s market manager for Australia/New Zealand, Sofia Hansard, said the fam trip equips frontline consultants to “sell Ireland with confidence as an incentive and meetings destination.” Australian outbound travel to Europe is projected to surpass 2019 levels by 7 percent in 2026, with Ireland targeting a €200 million share.
Companies running APAC to EMEA rotations should monitor group-rate negotiations: several hotels visited (including Kilkea Castle) indicated they would extend fam-trip promotional rates to small corporate meetings confirmed before 31 January 2026.
