International Hospitality and Tourism Student Journal 6 (1) 2014 59-70 Establishing the Suitability of Limerick City (Ireland) as a Conference Destination Host Neasa Carter June O’Byrne-Prior Noëlle O’Conner* Limerick Institute of Technology, Ireland *Corresponding author: Dr Noëlle O’Connor, Email: noelle.oconnor@lit.ie _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract The Irish conference industry has witnessed phenomenal growth throughout the decades. The industry has continued to grow and flourish despite the universal recession of recent years. The Irish conference industry continues to contribute millions of euro to the Irish economy every year. It has been forecasted the popularity of Ireland as a conference destination will continue to grow. The following research paper will attempt to distinguish the current standing of Limerick city as a conference host city. As future growth is predicted in the Irish conference industry the research paper will attempt to extricate how Limerick city (Ireland) may increase its conference rate. Relevant Literature was examined in order to provide a background to the conference industry as a whole. The primary research conducted throughout the paper is a contribution of those native to Ireland and Europe. The primary research was collected through a combination of questionnaires and industry interviews on a global, national and regional scale. The research paper will conclude with a number of recommendations regarding Limerick as a conference destination host. A number of suggestions will be made as to how Limerick city may be able to attain a percentage of the predicted influx of conferences to be hosted in Ireland. Keywords: M.I.C.E Industry; Conference Industry; Conference Destination; Destination Attributes; Limerick City; Ireland © 2013 International Hospitality Research Centre. All rights reserved. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction The popularity of Ireland as a conference destination has significantly grown over the past decade. A total of 230 conferences were held in Ireland in 2012, generating €151 million euro (Fáilte Ireland 2013). Furthermore there is evidence of continuous growth in the Irish conference industry. Fáilte Ireland has reported a potential of 400 conferences to be held in Ireland, contributing €386 million to the Irish Economy (Fáilte Ireland 2013). The research topic was undertaken as it was clear that the Irish conference industry deserved further research. An in-depth investigation was deemed necessary to establish how Limerick city may obtain a higher level of the predicted conference growth. Hence, the paper aims to identify Limericks current position in the Irish conference industry and how this share can be increased. The six objectives of the paper are to first, establish the attraction of Ireland as a conference destination, assess the Capital as the first choice as a conference destination, empirically explore the current relationship between Limerick and the conference industry identify the main stakeholders involved in conference industry of Limerick and lastly, analyse the means in which Limerick city may possibly attract a higher number of conferences in the future. The aforementioned objectives will be accomplished through the identification of existing literature and conduction of primary and secondary research. The research undertaken will include a combination of journals, scholarly books, industry reports, industry surveys and interviews. Identified information gaps associated with secondary research will be filled through the conduction of primary research. The collation of primary and secondary research will expectantly fulfil the objectives outlined. 2. Literature review 2.1. A Conference Industry Background The conference industry identified at this present time has a strong influence which can be contributed to conventions and trade associations meetings in the United States of America during the 19th Century (Rogers 1998). According to Rogers (1998) industry definitions were not distinguishable \ 59 59