Fáilte Ireland

Ireland's Business Events 2030 initiative has reframed the typical ‘attract more conferences’ destination strategy into a comprehensive national impact program. Created as a collaboration between the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland and other industry partners, it sets a roadmap to invigorate the business events sector. With the premise of value over volume, it will use meetings, incentives, conferences and events to strengthen regional economies, extend seasonality, support SMEs and build Ireland's reputation as a responsible, world-class host.

The strategy consists of three linked ambitions around economic growth, social legacy and environmental progress, to achieving an 8% annual increase in overseas business visitor revenue, an extra 700m in new business in the pipeline each year, and a 45% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 with a view to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. To ensure success, the plan is underpinned by practical mechanisms, including Failte Ireland's Association Conference Impact & Legacy Framework, a business events carbon calculator, a green toolkit for organisers, and a Destination Subvention Framework designed to incentivise regionality, social value and sustainable event practice.

Early reports reveal the approach is helping policy become best practice, where impact pilots including the International Social Housing Festival and Autism-Europe Congress generated community-focused outcomes, while the 35th International Geographical Congress in Dublin embedded measures such as carbon insetting, digital access and waste reduction. Ireland's regions remain in the top 40 of the Global Destination Sustainability Index, supported by growing third-party certification across venues, hotels and agencies. The judges praised a 'highly credible, holistic and future-focused destination strategy' so far with lots of behavioural change to come.