Tourists with deep pockets are on their way to Dublin, Galway and... Laois
Travel booking data shows Ireland ranks high for popularity among US and Canadian tourists.
A RAFT OF ‘upscale jetsetters’ are on their way to Ireland this summer, according to a network of luxury travel agents from across the Atlantic.
Bookings data from the travel group Virtuoso showed that Europe is a particularly popular destination among tourists from the US and Canada this summer, with Ireland sitting pretty as the sixth most popular location behind the UK, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands.
Virtuoso, which has an annual turnover of $35 billion, also revealed that Dublin and Galway are the favoured destinations for those visiting Ireland, but the company also said it had taken a large number of bookings for stays in County Laois.
Tourism Ireland’s head of North America Alison Metcalfe said travel bookings data showed the sector could build on the “record-breaking year for Irish tourism from the United States and Canada” in 2015.
“The outlook for this year is positive, with the most recent CSO figures for Q1 showing growth of 24.5% in visitors from North America,” she said.
“We are undertaking an extensive programme of promotions throughout 2016, to keep the momentum going and build on that growth.”
According to figures from the CSO, the number of trips made to Ireland by non-residents steadily increased between 2009 and 2014 and there was a further spike of 1 million extra visitors between 2014 and 2015.
Earlier this month, Fáilte Ireland reported that sentiment in the tourism sector early this year was at its most positive level for almost a decade. Almost two-thirds of businesses said they thought trade was up, compared to only 12% that reported a decline.
Star Wars factor
One of Tourism Ireland’s main pushes has involved making the most of the recent attention Skellig Michael received after a scene from Star Wars: The Force Awakens was shot at the location.
Earlier this year, Tourism Ireland released a promotional video specifically focused at enticing visitors to the island off the coast of Kerry.
The video, which has been marketed across 14 different markets worldwide showed the Force Awakens director JJ Abrams and other crew members explaining why the production crew chose to shoot at the location.
