Walking in the Air singer Aled Jones has joined forces with Tourism Ireland to launch the all-island body’s launched its autumn promotional campaign.
The campaign aims to boost late-season travel to Ireland from around the world, with the September to December period yielding as much as 30pc of Ireland’s annual overseas tourism business. The Welsh TV and radio presenter is filming an online video in Dublin for a promotion in Britain which will reach about 7.5 million potential holidaymakers.
Welsh TV and Radio presenter Aled Jones with Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons at Trinity College for the launch of Tourism Ireland’s Autumn Campaign. Photo: Keith Arkins
Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said: “We have seen growth of 3.1pc in overseas visitors to Ireland for the first seven months of 2017. Looking forward, our autumn campaign aims to take advantage of late booking trends around the world, as there is still plenty of business to play for. Many people are opting for shorter holiday breaks and autumn is a good opportunity with many world-class festivals and events happening around the island.”
He added: “We continue to work hard to maximise the success of winter air routes, to grow tourism in the shoulder and off-seasons. We will promote the island of Ireland through our sales missions to the United States, the Middle East and India. In addition, Tourism Ireland will bring top overseas travel agents and tour operators to Ireland this autumn to meet with hundreds of tourism businesses here and negotiate inclusion in their 2018 brochures and programmes.”
The autumn campaign is being rolled out in Britain, North America, Mainland Europe, Australia and emerging tourism markets. Highlights of the campaign include:
- Ireland takes over Saks Fifth Avenue – with window installations highlighting the island of Ireland in the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship stores in New York and Beverly Hills;
- ‘Dublin – A Breath of Fresh Air’ campaigns, in conjunction with Fáilte Ireland, will run in the United States, Britain and Mainland Europe;
- ‘Jump into Ireland’ travel trade and media blitz in San Diego, San Francisco and Houston;
- Sales mission to the Middle East (Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and India (Mumbai and Delhi);
- ‘Flavours of Ireland’ workshop, targeting long-haul markets through influential British inbound tour operators;
- Co-operative promotions with TripAdvisor, Expedia, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Stena Line, transatlantic and long-haul airlines like American, Norwegian and Qatar;
- Tourism Ireland will promote the island to approximately 67,000 travel professionals in Mainland Europe this autumn at two major trade fairs: IFTM Top Resa in Paris and TTG Incontri in Rimini; and World Travel Market takes place again in London, the largest B2B event in the global travel and tourism calendar.
