Together with tourism companies from Ireland and the US, Tourism Ireland undertook a sales blitz to the US recently.
This involved meeting and doing business with hundreds of travel professionals in Chicago, Dallas and Boston. Tourism Minister Brendan Griffin joined the sales mission in Boston, where he met influential travel professionals and journalists.
The schedule included a B2B event in each city, with an interactive presentation showcasing Ireland. It gave the participating companies a platform to promote and sell their products and services to the key American decision-makers in attendance.
It also provided opportunities for networking with travel and lifestyle journalists and influencers. Tourism Ireland also introduced its new campaign, Fill Your Heart With Ireland, to the travel professionals in each city.
Tourism Ireland has prioritised North America as a market which offers a strong return on investment in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure. In 2019, Tourism Ireland aims to surpass the record-breaking performance of 2018 and to grow revenue from North American visitors by 8 per cent i.e. €1.99 billion generated by 2.17 million visitors (+6 per cent).
A key message for Tourism Ireland is ease of access to Ireland from the US. This in particular from the new Aer Lingus flight from Dallas to Dublin which will launch in June.
Brendan Griffin TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, said: “I am delighted to be here in Boston to join Tourism Ireland’s ‘Fill your heart with Ireland’ sales blitz and to promote everything that is great about a trip to Ireland.”
“2018 was the sixth consecutive record year for visitor numbers to Ireland from North America. We welcomed over 2 million American and Canadian visitors, delivering revenue of €1.85 billion for the economy. Boston and the east coast of the United States are important sources of US visitors to Ireland. Events like this provide a vital opportunity to highlight what is new and exciting in Ireland to influential local travel trade and media.”
“Tourism Ireland looks forward to continuing to work with our travel partners to ensure that US travellers enjoy a unique and memorable vacation and receive the very best of Irish welcomes.”
This was the second stage of the 2019 series of ‘Fill Your Heart With Ireland’ sales blitzes. The programme kicked off at the end of February, taking in Boca Raton (Florida), Washington DC and Atlanta (Georgia). Similar events will take place on the west coast of the US in late 2019.
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