Pictures: Organisers honoured as conferences brought almost €15m into Cork this year
Conor Healy, Cork Chamber of Commerce; Evelyn O’Sullivan, Visit Cork; and Ray Kelleher of the Montenotte Hotel at the Cork Conference Ambassador Awards on Thursday, hosted by Cork Convention Bureau at Castlemartyr Resort.
CONFERENCE organisers who brought almost €15m worth of business tourism to Cork this year have been honoured at an annual ceremony.
At Cork Convention Bureau’s ‘Cork Conference Ambassador Awards’ on Thursday, four winners were recognised in particular for bringing significant conferences to Cork, around themes such as religion, sport, science, and agriculture and food.
Over 40 business events, from symposiums to large international conferences and global summits, brought an estimated 9,000 delegates to Cork in 2022, worth an estimated €14.4 million to the local economy.
Liam Maher and Alan Craughwell were recognised with the Sporting Conference Award, for bringing the high profile 2022 International Mixed Ability Rugby Tournament & Conference to Musgrave Park.
Estimated to be worth €1.7 million to the local economy, the two events brought 1,100 players, 650 volunteers and 25,000 spectators to the city for a week in June, with 28 men’s and women’s teams from 15 nations taking part.
Dr Jenny Butler, folklorist and lecturer in UCC’s Study of Religions Department, received the Association Conference Award for attracting over 550 attendees to Cork across two conferences, the European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism 2022 and the 20th European Association for the Study of Religions (EASR) 2022.
Dr Niall Smith and Elizabeth Carroll Twomey from MTU were honoured with the Academic Conference Award, for bringing the three day European Science Engagement Association Annual Meeting (EUSEA) to the MTU’s Bishopstown Campus during the summer.
The Sector Recognition Award was given to Teagasc Moorepark Research Centre, which attracted over 1,000 delegates to events.
The awards were presented by Minister Simon Coveney, Minister Michael McGrath, the President of MTU Professor Maggie Cusack, and Teagasc Director Professor Frank O'Mara.
Evelyn O’Sullivan, Manager at Cork Convention Bureau, says that Cork continues to be one of the most sought after destinations for business tourism.
“Cork excels at attracting international association conferences, especially in sectors such as Agriculture, STEM, Space and Maritime, so there is huge potential to target these sectors even further over the coming years, working closely with Fáilte Ireland, to grow Cork as a destination of choice for conference business."
Cork Conference Bureau is the business arm of Visit Cork, and works with people to attract and organise conferences in the Cork region.
According to Failte Ireland, Cork continues to get the greatest share of conferences in Ireland outside of Dublin, representing approximately 20% of the regional value of events, and Cork Convention Bureau has confirmed that they already have €3.5 million worth of conference business in the pipeline for the next two years.
