Tourism chiefs hope for 7.7m visitors next year after bumper 2014

Tourism Ireland hopes to attract a record-breaking 7.7m visitors next year, after a bumper 2014 which saw tourist revenue grow to €3.7bn.

The group has launched its marketing plans to promote Ireland overseas next year and aims to attract 7.74m visitors to these shores in 2015 — surpassing the previous record year of 2007.

This will represent a 6% growth on the 2014 figure of 7.3m tourists and deliver almost €4bn to the economy. In the longer term, Tourism Ireland aims to attract 10m visitors in 2025, contributing €5bn to the economy and sustaining around 250,000 jobs.

Along with showcasing its new global advertising campaign — Jump into Ireland — Tourism Ireland said it plans to prioritise the markets that offer the best return on investment in terms of number of visitors and revenue — Britain, north America and mainland Europe.

Tourists in those markets will be targeted with distinctive holiday experiences, events and special offers tailored to them.

Tourism Ireland will also target countries increasingly seen as emerging tourism markets like India and China, highlighting the new British-Irish visa scheme.

Promoting the Wild Atlantic Way around the globe next year will continue to be a major focus of the work of the tourism body next year, along with showcasing Dubline — the new Dublin Discovery Trail.

With next year marking the 150th year since the birth of WB Yeats, Tourism Ireland will also promote Yeats 2015 around the world.

Next year has also been designated ID2015 (the year of Irish design), a showcase of the best of Irish design.

The tourism body pointed to a number of key factors working in Ireland’s favour next year including new air routes, consumer confidence returning in key source markets, the Irish brand continuing to have a strong reputation abroad, continued product investment in initiatives like the Wild Atlantic Way and favourable exchange rates for sterling and the dollar.

Commenting on the plans for 2015, Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said that hopes were high that a bumper 2014 can be improved on next year.

“Following a successful 2014, ambitious targets have been set for 2015 and beyond. We will continue to place a major focus on promoting the Wild Atlantic Way, as well as on Dubline.

“We will promote specific themes, including ID2015 and Yeats 2015. And we will highlight the new British-Irish visa scheme in China and India, which will enable Chinese and Indian visitors to visit both Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland, on a single visa of either country,” he said.

Tourism Minister Paschal Donohoe said that Ireland could not afford to be complacent in the competitive market of international tourism.

“We must continue to identify the most effective ways to attract tourists to Ireland, so that we can support the jobs we have in the sector and help create new ones.

“Government policies, such as reducing the rate of the air travel tax to zero from April 2014 onwards and retaining the reduction of Vat at 9% on tourism-related services in Budget 2015, support this objective,” he said.