Tourism Ireland recently launched a new US$4.2 million promotional campaign to build anticipation for holidays in Ireland this summer. The country is slated to open to visitors this month and after a tough year, the tourism industry is hoping for a good summer.
Phase one involves a major digital video campaign, which went live fin June. Called ‘Let’s get back to Ireland’, the online video will build anticipation for holidays in Ireland this summer. It will be promoted via online video platforms (including YouTube), on social media, mobile devices, as well as on Connected TV (television that can stream digital content), in nine different markets: Great Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries and Switzerland.
Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said, “We are delighted to unveil our new campaign, ‘Let’s get back to Ireland’, which will help build anticipation for trips to Ireland this summer, among holidaymakers in our key overseas markets. We know from our research that there is significant pent-up demand among overseas visitors to return to Ireland as soon as possible. However, we also know that there will be significant competition, as every destination across the globe has experienced the impact of COVID and will be seeking their share of the recovery. As international travel begins to restart, the priority for Tourism Ireland will be to keep the island of Ireland front and centre in consumers’ minds. Our kick-start campaign will need to punch through the noise and create an immediate desire to visit.”
Before COVID-19, overseas tourism had recorded nine consecutive years of record growth. In fact, 2019 surpassed all previous records – when we welcomed 11.3 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland.
2 million of those Global visitors were North American visitors delivering revenue of around US$2.3 billion for the economy in 2019. Phase two of Tourism Ireland’s kick-start activity will go live in July. This will be a separate campaign, which will deliver a very clear ‘book now’ message to prospective international visitors and will single-mindedly drive visitor numbers back to Ireland.
