Business travel from overseas is worth €700m to the Irish economy, according to new estimates from Fáilte Ireland.
The total number of corporate and business travellers coming to Ireland increased by 7% last year. The sector is estimated to support approximately 21,000 jobs.
Fáilte Ireland's report says that its activities brought business worth €198m to Ireland - that's 10% higher than the year before.
New rankings recently released by the International Congresses and Conventions Association (ICCA) list Ireland as the 13th best country to hold a conference or convention in.
Despite Brexit, the body reports that there is "still strong British interest in our Business tourism product."
Commenting on the estimates and the recent rankings, Fáilte Ireland CEO, Paul Kelly commented: "Business and events is an incredibly important component of the overall tourism industry and generates above average yields, out-of-season visits and employment growth.
"Last year, Fáilte Ireland’s Business and Events team supported the conversion of over €150m worth of business for current and future years, while also supporting the conversion of €27.2m worth of business for regional Ireland. We in Fáilte Ireland intend to continue focussing on this lucrative part of the tourism market in 2017, delivering even more revenue and employment for the country for 2017 and beyond with a particular emphasis on growth potential beyond Dublin."
