‘Ireland unrushed’ promotes slow tourism campaign to overseas markets

The campaign includes a specially created page on Tourism Ireland’s international website, highlighting ten ‘hero’ journeys which showcase slower-paced and more immersive holiday ideas to prospective overseas holidaymakers. File picture

Tourism Ireland has just launched its ‘Ireland Unrushed’ global campaign, going live in 15 key overseas markets. 

Encouraging visitors to enjoy journeying around the island of Ireland at a slower pace this summer and beyond, the campaign is beaming across leading video platforms, social, and digital channels. Now in its second year, the plan is to build on the success of last year’s campaign, aiming to reach over 100 million through publicity and advertising. 

The campaign includes a series of videos highlighting breathtaking landscapes and ‘slow tourism’ activities — from travelling along inland waterways by boat or on greenways by bike, to journeying by train to cities such as Galway, Cork, Dublin or Belfast. 

It also features locally grown produce on a coastal food tour and exploring local beaches, villages and hiking trails. In early testing, the campaign videos achieved over 90% persuasion scores, a measure of their ability to drive a change in consumer consideration for the island of Ireland. 

Supporting the campaign, the publicity activity will highlight slow tourism experiences in global media outlets such as Lonely Planet, Vanity Fair Italia and The Independent in Britain. Tourism Ireland is also partnering with Condé Nast Traveler in the US and Canada, reaching potential visitors through themed articles and social posts.

The campaign includes a specially created page on Tourism Ireland’s international website, highlighting ten ‘hero’ journeys which showcase slower-paced and more immersive holiday ideas to prospective overseas holidaymakers. One of the prominent slogans is: “On the island of Ireland, we care about the depth of experience. When you take your time and immerse yourself, you feel more.” 

Tourism Ireland CEO Alice Mansergh said: “More than ever, people need moments of calm and our campaign is all about positioning the island of Ireland as the perfect place to create deeper connections with people and place, at a slower pace. Tourism Ireland is targeting visitors who are seeking a sense of exploration on their trips.”

Tourism and the economy

Overseas tourism is worth over €6bn annually to the economy, with up to 10% of jobs supported by tourism and hospitality. CSO figures confirm that Ireland welcomed over 1.3m overseas visitors for the period January to March 2026, an increase of 24% on the same three-month period in 2025. 

The collective spend for that period was €909m, also up 24% on Q1 2025. The three-month period of January to March, outside of the peak season, usually amounts to around 13% of total overseas visitor spend for the year, and represents positive revenue growth from all market areas, with visitor spend up 26% from North America, 24% from mainland Europe, 22% from Britain, and 22% from the rest of the world. 

However, despite this positive start to 2026, there are headwinds in the tourism sector, taking into account the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

Up to €450m of visitor spend annually comes to Ireland from long-haul Asian, Australian, and Middle Eastern markets, often using air space over the Middle East, which faces some disruption and re-routing at the current time. 

“It is positive to see the growth in overseas tourism for the first quarter of 2026, with increases in visitors and visitor spend from Great Britain, North America, Mainland Europe and further afield,” said Alice Mansergh. “That said, we know that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has implications for overseas tourism as we look ahead. Disruption to air space over the Middle East, oil and gas supply and pricing, as well as consumer confidence all influence the tourism outlook.

There are 46,000 tourism businesses in Ireland, 50,000 island wide, and 6 out of 10 euros in the tourism economy are brought in by overseas visitors specifically.” 

The European Travel Commission expects demand for overseas travel to remain resilient but with price sensitivity increasing, as households consider their own day-to-day costs. Competitiveness is therefore a key consideration for industry on the ground. Tourism industry bodies have welcomed government measures, such as the reduced 9% VAT rate on food services to aid viability in the months ahead.