A group of leading travel writers from the Pearl River Delta region in southern China have been visiting Ireland as guests of Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and Tourism NI. They flew to Dublin on the new Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong – the first ever direct flight from the Asia-Pacific region to Ireland, which was launched last month.
Representing a range of print and online publications, the journalists have a combined audience of over 7.3 million readers. The aim of their visit is to highlight the new flight and ease of access from southern China to Ireland to their readers, as well as some of the many things to see and do here on a holiday.
Their programme includes Kildare Village, the Guinness Storehouse, the Cliffs of Moher and a walking tour of Galway city. They also enjoyed visits to the Marble Arch Caves Global Geopark, Titanic Belfast, St George's Market, Belfast City Hall, Queen's University and the Ulster Museum.
James Kenny, Tourism Ireland’s Manager China, said, “Tourism Ireland was delighted to invite these influential travel writers from southern China to visit the island of Ireland to experience for themselves some of the many great things to see and do here. Visits like this are an invaluable part of our overall promotional programme, helping to get positive exposure for Ireland through the media in China.”
Kenny continued, “China is the largest outbound travel market in the world and one that Tourism Ireland is committed to growing over the coming years. In 2017, we welcomed an estimated 70,000 Chinese visitors to the island of Ireland. The introduction of the new direct flight from Hong Kong is a major game-changer and offers a real opportunity for us to build on this number. We look forward to working with Cathay Pacific, to maximise the promotion of, and drive demand for, this new service. We are confident that we are in a strong position to grow this emerging travel market in 2018 and over the coming years.”
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
