China blog boost for Irish tourism

China’s number one travel blogger is visiting Ireland potentially showcasing the country to tens of millions of tourists in the Far East.

Mr Fan Yibo, aka Mr Colorful Map, has spent a week touring the country as a guest of Tourism Ireland.

Mr Yibo is hugely influential in China — the world’s most populous country. His blog has received in excess of 77m hits to date and he has more than 360,000 fans on Sina Weibo — one of the most popular social networking sites in China.

This was his first visit to Ireland and his action-packed itinerary included Dublin, Newgrange, and the Hill of Tara, a day touring Wicklow, as well as some of our other major attractions like the Rock of Cashel, the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle, the National Park in Killarney, and Blarney Castle.

Tourism Ireland manager Amanda Burns said photos and details of Mr Fan’s visit have already been posted online.

Meanwhile, the Canadian couple whose honeymoon video in Ireland became an internet hit are set to visit Ireland again, courtesy of Tourism Ireland.

Stephen and Shannon Parker recorded about 16 hours of footage on their honeymoon here before editing it down to a video: ‘A Fortnight Plus Half — An Ireland Adventure’.