The Emerald Isle remains a popular tourist destination for people around the world, as Tourism Ireland released the figures for 2019 so far.
It is estimated that a total of 11.2 million people have visited Ireland this year, a number almost on par with the levels set in 2018, according to figures released by Tourism Ireland.
The vast amount of tourism as always reaps many rewards for the Irish economy, generating €5.8 billion for the country and supporting 325,000 jobs.
Keeping Ireland ‘top of mind’
While the numbers do almost mirror those of the year previous, Tourism Ireland describes 2019 as a “mixed year” for the Emerald Isle.
Tourism Ireland cited “consumer concern in Britain” and some “important mainland European markets” as a result of the continued uncertainty around Brexit, economic slowdown in some markets, and the first decline in air access to Ireland in eight years.
However, Tourism Ireland’s “focus throughout the year has been to keep Ireland ‘top of mind’ for potential visitors across the world” and to “bring Ireland to the attention of travellers everywhere”.
Packed programme of promotions
Through 2019, Tourism Ireland undertook numerous programmes and promotions in order to enhance visitor experience and increase tourist numbers across Ireland.
This included Tourism Ireland’s first global campaign in seven years, entitled ‘Fill Your Heart With Ireland’, which reached 78 million views on TV alone. Quite impressive!
Other measures included: campaigns to encourage more tourism to the regions; city break campaigns for Belfast, Dublin and other urban centres; the Game of Thrones tour; and Tourism Ireland’s annual Global Greening Initiative on St. Patrick’s Day.
Tourism Ireland’s Vision
Moving forward, Tourism Ireland aims to expand upon these numbers and is hoping for 12 million tourists to have visited Ireland by 2022 (7% increase), while simultaneously aiming to accrue €6.54 billion for the Irish economy from overseas tourism (7%).
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Our new, three-year strategy is built on a set of sustainable destination marketing principles.”
Gibbons continued: “These principles will underpin all of Tourism Ireland’s activities and are reflected in our renewed emphasis on driving business to the regions and ensuring the benefits of tourism growth are distributed right around the island of Ireland.
“We are confident that overseas tourism will help communities to prosper, while our overseas visitors continue to enjoy a great holiday experience,” Gibbons concluded.
Impressive social media following
Tourism Ireland now ranks as the fourth most popular tourism board in the world on Facebook with 4.5 million fans, fourth on Twitter with 524,000 followers collectively, and fourth on YouTube, with almost 64 million views.
With a further 23 million people visiting Tourism Ireland’s website, it is clear the interest in Ireland is high and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down as we head into 2020. Considering this huge and growing following, we can’t help wondering what the new year will bring for Irish tourism. And we can’t wait to find out!
