New tourism initiative announced

A €9 million tourism marketing campaign blitz that is partly supported by revenues raised from the controversial air travel tax has been unveiled.

The campaigns will also receive matching funding from a number of private sector companies including airlines, ferry companies and online travel operators.

Announcing the new promotional campaigns in Dublin this morning, Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar said it would reach a potential worldwide audience of at least 20 million people.

The campaigns aim to increase visitor numbers before the end of the year, and also prepare the ground for the proposed year-long tourism initiative in 2013, “The Gathering”, announced at the Global Irish Economic Forum in Dublin last week.

The series of joint co-operative marketing campaigns between Tourism Ireland and private operators is being partly funded thought the airline travel tax.

A decision was taken earlier this year to retain the tax until agreement can be reached with airlines on routes and passenger numbers. The air tax on passengers leaving Irish airports, currently worth some €30 million to the exchequer, was reduced from €10 to €3 in last December’s budget.

The new marketing blitz is supported by a number of partners including Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Etihad, Virgin Atlantic, Us Airways, Cheapflights, Irish Ferries, Stena Line, Expedia, Opodo and Hotels.com.

“Ireland’s tourism industry is now showing signs of recovery, with overseas visitor numbers rising by almost 12 per cent in the first seven months of this year. I hope that measures like this will see visitor numbers continue to rise further for the rest of this year and next, and in the run-up to The Gathering in 2013,” said Mr Varadkar.

Among the campaigns to be promoted are a ‘Home of Champions’ ad strategy which will promote golfing holidays in Ireland, on the back of major winners such as Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke.

A ‘season extension’ initiative in the US market is designed to drive business over the winter period and will reach about 18 million consumers. This campaign will run in the five gateway cities in the US offering flights over the winter period to Dublin and Shannon.

Tourism Ireland is also teaming up with airlines such as Ryanair and Aer Lingus and a large number of travel websites and ferry operators to highlight attractive fares and hotel prices in Ireland across Europe.

An extensive campaign will also be rolled out in Asia and Australia, highlighting the new Emirates route from Dubai to Dublin from January 2012, as well as the Irish Government’s Visa Waiver Scheme which makes it easier for visitors from emerging tourism markets to visit the country.

Commenting on the new marketing blitz, Tourism Ireland's director of corporate services and policy Shane Clarke said he believed the campaigns would have a positive effect on visitor numbers to Ireland.

"This is an exciting time for the Irish tourism industry. We are looking forward to working with our industry partners to help grow overseas tourism business. In particular, we look forward to maximising the number of visitors we can attract over the typically quieter winter months," he said.