- Tourism Ireland has led a five-city sales mission to Canada with 16 tourism companies.
- The delegation has met travel advisors, tour operators, airlines and media in five Canadian cities.
- Visitor numbers from Canada have risen 35 pc since 2023.
- Around 306,000 seats have been available on flights from Canada to Ireland for summer 2026.
- Tourism Ireland has run consumer, media and trade promotions throughout 2026.
Tourism Ireland has led a 16 company sales mission to Canada to promote the island of Ireland to key travel buyers and operators.
The initiative coincides with the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation forecast of five to seven per cent growth in tourism revenue for 2026 despite ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges.
Early year figures show 834,000 overseas tourists visited in January and February, spending €538m, while new routes and marketing campaigns continue to drive interest. Partnerships with airlines and trade events are supporting stronger summer seat capacity from key markets. The hospitality sector is watching these efforts closely as they seek to build on last year’s €5.5 billion contribution from international visitors.
Tourism Ireland has undertaken a major programme of consumer, media and travel trade promotions throughout 2026 to grow tourism from Canada. The organisation has inspired potential Canadian visitors with compelling reasons to travel to Ireland.
Participating enterprises included AC Tours Ireland Ltd, Brendan Vacations, CIE Tours, Cronin’s Coaches, Globus, Goway, Guinness Storehouse, Hastings Hotels, Ireland’s Blue Book, Irish National Stud & Gardens, Kylemore Abbey, O’Donoghue Ring Collection, Royal Irish Tours, Titanic Belfast, Vintage Tea Trips and Visit Armagh.
Sandra Moffatt shared “Our sales blitz this week provides an excellent platform for our tourism partners from the island of Ireland to inform and influence Canadian travel professionals about what Ireland has to offer and, importantly, to encourage them to include the destination in their future programmes and recommend it to their clients.”
“Air access from Canada to Ireland for this summer is positive – with around 306,000 seats available on flights to Ireland from six Canadian gateways, from four airlines, with capacity for the full summer season currently planned to be up 9 pc compared to summer 2025.”
