Tour America hosted a gala dinner at Layla’s Rooftop Restaurant in the Devlin Hotel to mark 30 years since the agency’s foundation by Mary McKenna in 1995 from her sitting room with three staff.
The agency grew to over 100 employees, offices in Dublin and Belfast, and annual bookings over 50,000 passengers, with €45m turnover in 2024 and 12pc growth projected for 2025.
Partnerships include Aer Lingus and United Airlines, focusing on escorted tours to US national parks, New York, Las Vegas, and a 2,500-mile Route 66 group tour across eight states.
Plans for 2026 introduce sustainable travel with carbon offset programmes for all bookings and new routes to Alaska and Hawaii.
Irish outbound travel to the US hit 1.2m passengers in 2024 , with 65pc client retention contributing €15m in revenue last year.
Mary McKenna shared “crediting family support, particularly from her father Frank, for early encouragement. The company maintains a client retention rate of 65pc, with repeat visitors contributing €15m in revenue last year.”
