Fáilte Ireland Industry Briefing

The CCD hosted Fáilte Ireland’s Industry Briefing in September 2021. The event was Ireland’s first in-person business conference since March 2020, marking the reopening of the meetings and conferences sector.

Brief

Fáilte Ireland sought a business events venue to provide meeting space, audio visual equipment and food and beverage for hosting an in-person industry briefing event in Dublin city centre. Selection was by means of a tender process, whereby each venue had to demonstrate their experience of delivering similar events, as well as highlighting sustainability policies in place to manage and minimise the environmental impact of the event. It was also a requirement that the venue had completed the Government of Ireland/Fáilte Ireland Covid Safety Charter.

The CCD was chosen to host an inspiring event to kick off the re-opening of the tourism industry in Ireland. Event requirements included being COVID-compliant, inspiring professionals working in the tourism industry and making them feel confident and safe returning to large-scale events.

Solution

During the pandemic, The CCD hosted sittings of the Houses of the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament), with Fáilte Ireland’s Industry Briefing marking a return of in-person business conferences at the venue since the easing of restrictions.

The CCD wanted to provide delegates with a five star experience, while also being compliant with necessary health and safety COVID regulations. The operations team considered the experience they wanted to create for the client and then sought to ensure the event was delivered in a safe manner.

The event strictly followed Fáilte Ireland Guidelines for Re-Opening for Conference Centres and Venues. Some of the control measures in place included the following.

• Proof of immunisation and ID was checked upon arrival.
• Guests wore masks at all times apart from when they were dining.
• The event was socially distanced, both in plenary and public areas.
• The number of people sitting at tables for lunch was reduced to adhere to guidelines.
• The client kept guest contact details for a period of time to facilitate contact tracing.

As with all hospitality at The CCD, the event menu was sourced from the island of Ireland. All packaging was fully compostable where possible and a QR coded menu was used, with a selection of hand baked pastries and treats served from our in-house bakery.

Minister for Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media, Catherine Martin TD officially opened the event in the Auditorium. Other speakers included Fáilte Ireland CEO Paul Kelly and a panel discussion of event industry leaders, including The CCD’s Chief Executive, Stephen Meehan.

Results

The kick-off event was attended by 450 tourism professionals, who listened to discussions on the re-opening of Ireland for business tourism and learned about opportunities and supports available for the future.

Lanyards were collected at the end of the event so they could be used again and digital signage was used rather than printed signage to help make a sustainable event.

The event was one of the first carbon neutral events at The CCD, part of a new offering whereby clients have the opportunity to offset all of their event carbon emissions held at the venue. We calculate the event's total CO2 emissions output and match that to a number of indigenous Irish trees that will be planted throughout Ireland. Having calculated this event’s carbon footprint, 48 trees were planted after the event, making Fáilte Ireland’s industry briefing a carbon neutral event.

Hosting Fáilte Ireland’s Industry Briefing was a real team effort from everyone at The CCD. The date for the event was flexible in order to work with a changing situation due to COVID-19. When the event was confirmed, we kept close to the changing situation to ensure we complied with Fáilte Ireland’s latest guidelines for staging the event. This translated to tight deadlines and timelines for planning, but the team pulled together and the client and venue were delighted to see the event was such a success.