10% of all US travel to Europe came to Ireland last year as tourist numbers soar
An end-of-year tourism review by Tourism Ireland revealed that 7.9m tourists visited this year — up 11% on 2014. The total tourism spend was €4.2bn — up 16%.
There has been growth in all markets with the US, Canada, Germany, France, Spain and Australia all turning in record performances. Britain, Ireland’s largest tourism market, also recorded strong growth of 10% this year.
According to the CSO, the number of holiday visitors in the first nine months of the year increased around 500,000 (19%), while revenue from these visitors jumped by 18% to around €500m.
Some of the key attractions and events which drew such a volume of tourists include the Wild Atlantic Way, Game of Thrones, the 150th anniversary of the birth of WB Yeats and its ‘Ireland says I do’ campaign, as well as Tourism Ireland’s annual Global Greening initiative on St Patrick’s Day.
CEO of Tourism Ireland Niall Gibbons said he hoped 2016 could be another record year for tourism with an aim of 8.2m visitors.
“Following a record 2015, ambitious targets have been set for 2016 and beyond.
“Next year, we will unveil Ireland’s Ancient East around the world, while continuing to place a major focus on the Wild Atlantic Way.
“We will also highlight Dublin, in particular capitalising on the recent inclusion of Dublin at number three in the world in the prestigious ‘Lonely Planet Best in Travel 2016,” he said.
Tourism Ireland also plans to capitalise on the global popularity of the new Star Wars film, which features the Skelligs, by launching a special campaign targeting fans of the science fiction franchise everywhere.
Its campaign will be shown in 14 markets including Britain, the US, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordic region, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa.
The activities planned will include a specially created web page, extensive social media activity and a major PR and publicity push.
“A hugely popular name like Star Wars filming here will bring the magnificent scenery of Skellig Michael and the Wild Atlantic Way to the attention of millions of people around the world.
“It’s a really effective way to reach mass audiences, helping to significantly boost awareness of the Skelligs, the south-west and Ireland in general, providing a global platform for Ireland as a holiday destination and whetting people’s appetites to come and visit,” said Mr Gibbons.
Tourism Minister Paschal Donohoe said it was important that the momentum gained this year continues into 2016.
“We are determined to maintain the positive momentum seen in 2015, and I was very pleased to recently launch the Tourism Ireland 2016 marketing plan, which is targeting a further 5% growth in overseas visitor revenue next year.”
“Tourism Ireland’s marketing of Ireland overseas builds upon the highly effective work being done at home by Fáilte Ireland in developing key brand experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Ancient East, and the high-quality service that is offered to visitors by the Irish tourism sector across every region of the country,” he said.
