150 international tour operators meet local businesses in Belfast

155 Northern Ireland businesses are getting the chance to pitch to overseas tourism buyers.

The networking event hosted by Tourism Northern Ireland offers the chance to promote Northern Ireland.

Around 5000 meetings will take place in Belfast on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Meet the Buyer event attracts a wide range of international tour companies from 16 global markets, including countries such as the US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Nordics and closer to home markets.

Economy Minister Conor Murphy opened the event, he said:

“This event provides an excellent opportunity to show international visitors what we have to offer across the north of Ireland. Whether it be our magnificent landscapes, our rich and diverse cultural heritage, our coastline, lakelands and mountains, our activities, our great food and drink scene, vibrant music venues and our cities with their own unique stories to tell.

“I hope each international visitor here as part of this ‘Meet the Buyer’ event enjoys their time and continues to make the North a key component of itineraries, that they bring their customers here more often, and that they stay longer when they get here.

“Tourism is a very important sector of our economy. It provides employment right across the north, and supports many local businesses. Events like this are a key component in helping us to continue to develop our tourism potential and the incredible contribution it makes to our overall economy.”

David Roberts, Director of Strategic Development at Tourism NI says there's been huge interest in the event:

"We've had really significant interest, bigger than ever, such that normally our event is one day but this year we've extended to two days because we have such a big interest from operators across 16 markets so we have over 5000 meetings happening here today and tomorrow."