Figures just released from the Central Statistics Office are showing an almost 8% increase in the number of overseas people taking a trip to Ireland. According to the CSO recent figures show that there were more than 6 million people taking a vacation in Ireland in the first 7 months of 2018 which is an increase of 7.8% compared to the same period in 2017.
Overseas visits of people taking trips to Ireland have risen by 7.6 ％ for the first 5 months in Ireland in 2018 and it now looks very possible that the ongoing tourist season will deliver another record breaking year with regards to revenue. Mainland Europe and North American markets have both increased by 12 ％ and arrivals from the United Kingdom have increased by 2.4％ regardless of the fall in sterling and Brexit scares.
The cultural city of Galway is set to welcome the return of the much awaited Galway International Arts Festival which is set to run from the 16th-29th July where a wonderful mix of world-class theatre, headline music acts, street spectacles and much more is sure to attract many people who maybe planning on taking a trip to Ireland.
Dublin Airport is expecting a “record breaking summer” in terms of visitors with the addition of four new airlines including Cathay Pacific, Croatia Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Icelandair as well as 14 new routes comprising of five long haul and non short-haul destinations.
The director’s cut of the first ever TV advert used to market the island of to tourists planning on taking a vacation in Ireland has been re-released online by Tourism Ireland. The release of the video by Tourism Ireland marks the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as well as the 25th Anniversary of the Cranberries debut album Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Can’t We.
Vacations in Ireland are set to further grow in 2018 with an increase of visitor numbers where the aim is to grow overseas tourism revenue by 5% to €5 billion.
This month has certainly been a busy month for Irish Tourism with Tourism Ireland accepting two awards in Germany. Tourism Ireland attended the accolade at ITB in Berlin last week to accept their first award for Expedia’s ‘Campaign of the year’.
This ties in with how Tourism Ireland recently launched a new strategy to boost figures of those planning a vacation in Ireland from Germany, setting out targets which will see the island of Ireland welcome 800,000 German visitors per year by 2021.
As part of Tourism Ireland’s 2018 Global Greening in the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day, the fountains in London’s Trafalgar Square, the Space Needle in Seattle, Chimo the Polar Bear statue in Ontario, and the San Mamés stadium in Bilbao – the home of Athletic Club Bilbao are set to go green for Ireland’s big event. Tourism Ireland’s global campaign, which is now in it’s 9th year is continuing the organisation’s promotional drive by encouraging people to take a trip to Ireland and growing overseas tourism to Ireland in 2018.
When it comes to Ireland vacations no trip compares to celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at home in Ireland. When it comes to trips to Ireland, none compare to the St Patrick’s Weekend festivities.
Those planning a trip to Ireland and to it’s main capital city of Dublin are set to be wowed by this year’s parade. The main event of the festival, the parade is set to take place in Ireland’s capital city of Dublin at 12 noon on March 17th and it will weave its way through the heart of the capital city. Preparations for the parade can take up to two years. More than 2,000 band members are set to take part in this year’s parade.
A review of the tourism industry in Killarney has found that the popular tourist town of Killarney, County Kerry still comes out on top with both local visitors and overseas visitors planning a vacation in Ireland. Killarney is one of Ireland’s key tourism hubs, attracting an estimated 1.1 million visitors each year.
