Tourism Minister Brendan Griffin; Joan O’Shaughnessy, Chairman of Tourism Ireland; Stephen McNally, Deputy CEO of the Dalata Hotel Group and Chair of the GB Market Review; Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland; Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland; and Julie Wakley, Tourism Ireland’s Head of Britain
Ireland's new tourism strategy developed by Tourism Ireland in collaboration with Failte Ireland and Tourism NI for the British market aims to grow visitation from the UK by 25% by 2022.
Priorities include:
- Building ongoing relationships with British holidaymakers
- Tailoring communications to the needs of British holidaymakers
- Creating reasons to travel beyond Dublin and Belfast
- Improving access to Ireland for short breaks
Strategy was developed via a process incorporating:
- Review of existing data on behavior of British visitors
- New research on needs and motivations of Brits for visiting Ireland
- Consultation with tourism pros and thought leaders in Ireland and London
Britain has traditionally been a dependable source of 40% of the overseas visitors to Ireland, but a weak GBP and international tensions since the 2016 Brexit vote put this market at risk.
Stay tuned for further developments as the Brexit clock runs down to 31 October 2019.
