Hospitality Ireland presents a round-up of Tourism Ireland news.
Lonely Planet Declares Dublin The Seventh Best City In The World To Visit In 2022
Lonely Planet has declared Dublin the seventh best city in the world to visit in 2022.
Tourism Ireland stated, "Dublin has been named the seventh best city in the world to visit in 2022 by Lonely Planet. The leading travel media company [unveiled] the accolade [on Thursday October 28] in the prestigious Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022 - its collection of the world’s hottest trends, destinations and experiences for the coming year.
"With 2022 marking 100 years since the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses, Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022 will encourage visitors to follow in the footsteps of Leopold Bloom, with a stroll around the city to see its architectural and cultural delights.
"Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, said, 'I would like to congratulate the beautiful city of Dublin on being recognised as one of the best cities to visit in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022. This is a wonderful accolade for the city and very well deserved. It has been such a difficult period for our tourism industry and this is a timely reminder that Ireland and in particular Dublin remains a world class holiday destination. I would like to encourage all domestic and international tourists alike to visit Dublin and mark the centenary of the wonderful book Ulysses from one of our many literary icons James Joyce and follow in the footsteps of the uniquely Irish Leopold Bloom.'
"Welcoming the news, Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said, 'The inclusion of Dublin as the Number Seven City in the world in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022 is wonderful news and will surely help to inspire travellers everywhere to put Dublin and Ireland on their holiday wish-list for next year. As we restart tourism from overseas, it is another well-deserved accolade which will help position us well for 2022 and create 'stand-out' against competitor destinations. I would like to thank Lonely Planet for the wonderful support they have shown the island of Ireland over the years.'
"Dublin city is described in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022 as 'one of Europe's most down-to-earth and friendly cities'. It mentions Dublin's 'Georgian squares, traditional pubs and warm people' and it goes on to say that 'modern Dublin still has all the appeal of the city in Joyce’s day plus a host of compelling contemporary reasons to visit now'.
"As we restart tourism from overseas, Tourism Ireland will take every opportunity to maximise this accolade for Dublin and Ireland, over the coming weeks and months. Activity to spread the good news will include:
- "a new video highlighting the accolade and Dublin city;
- "a specially created page on Tourism Ireland’s international website, Ireland.com;
- "extensive social media activity, including posts and news on Facebook (Tourism Ireland has 4.6 million fans worldwide), Instagram (over 1 million followers) and Twitter (535,000 followers);
- "a major PR and publicity push to top travel and lifestyle journalists around the world; and
- "highlighting the accolade at major travel fairs like the upcoming World Travel Market in London, the largest B2B event in the global travel and tourism calendar.
"Tourism Ireland recently launched its new 'Green Button' global campaign, to restart tourism and encourage as many overseas visitors as possible to book Ireland for their next short break or holiday. Tourism Ireland will leverage the Lonely Plant accolade to complement that message and encourage people around the world to 'press the Green Button and discover Dublin'.
"The island of Ireland has been particularly successful in the prestigious Lonely Planet's 'Best in Travel' accolade over the years. Previous accolades have included the Burren Ecotourism Network being named a 'Best Community Tourism Project' for 2021, Galway being declared the fourth best city in the world to visit in 2020, Belfast and the Causeway Coast named the Number One Region in the world to visit in 2018, the Skellig Ring drive being named a Top Ten Region to visit in 2017, Dublin named the third best city in the world to visit in 2016 and Ireland being declared the fifth best country in the world to visit in 2015."
Tourism Ireland Video Highlights Ireland As The "Home Of Halloween"
In a separate statement, Tourism Ireland said, "Tourism Ireland is sharing an online film to highlight Ireland as the true 'Home of Halloween' - reminding people everywhere that many of the world’s Halloween traditions began here in Ireland.
"Titled 'Ireland: Home of Halloween', the film tells the story of how Halloween began - almost 3,000 years ago - as the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, to mark the start of winter. It features the origins of some of our well-known Halloween traditions - including dressing up in disguise to ward off evil spirits, carving ghoulish faces into turnips to create the original jack-o'-lanterns, as well as baking barmbrack to forecast the future.
"Tourism Ireland's aim is to spread the message that Ireland is the true 'Home of Halloween' and to encourage viewers to come and experience our Halloween traditions for themselves. To view the film, [scroll down].
"Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland's Director of Markets, said, 'Our online film, highlighting the authentic connection between Ireland and Halloween, will be seen by over 3.7 million people around the world. Tourism Ireland wants to spread the message that Ireland is the true 'Home of Halloween' and inspire viewers to come and experience our well-known Halloween traditions for themselves. Our message is very simple: we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from around the world.'
"The 'Ireland: Home of Halloween' film is being promoted by Tourism Ireland on social media - including on YouTube in Great Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordic countries, Canada and Australia – and will reach an estimated 3.7 million viewers. It will also be shared on Tourism Ireland's other social platforms, including Facebook (almost 4.6 million fans worldwide), Instagram (over 1 million followers) and Twitter (535,000 followers)."
Tourism Minister Leads Drive To Restart Overseas Tourism At World's Largest Travel Fair
In another statement, "Tourism Ireland said, Tourism Minister Catherine Martin joins Tourism Ireland and 40 tourism businesses from Ireland at World Travel Market (WTM) in London today.
"WTM typically heralds the beginning of Ireland's promotional drive overseas for the year ahead. As we restart travel from overseas, Ireland's presence at World Travel Market is more important than ever this year. Every destination across the globe has experienced the impact of COVID-19 and is now seeking its share of the recovery. Tourism Ireland's aim, therefore, is to stand out from the crowd and to capture the attention of the global media and travel professionals in attendance.
"This year, WTM is a hybrid event - with the live event taking place over three days this week, on 1-3 November, and the virtual meetings taking place on 8-9 November. In all, some 77 tourism companies from Ireland will engage in important meetings with international tour operators - to negotiate and exchange vital contracts for 2022.
"Tourism Minister Catherine Martin said, 'I am delighted to attend today's World Travel Market which provides an excellent platform for Tourism Ireland, and the participating tourism enterprises, to highlight Ireland's world-class tourism experience to international tour operators. As tourism begins to emerge from the devastation wrought by COVID-19, it is imperative that we get the message out there that Ireland is again open for business and that visitors know that a warm welcome awaits them when they travel to Ireland, despite the disruption of the last couple of years. I must commend Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Northern Ireland and all our tourism partners for their concerted efforts to kick-start tourism’s recovery and to keep the island of Ireland high on international travel wish-lists. There is increasing recognition that tourism growth must be sustainable, as well as being consistent with our sectoral climate change targets and commitments. And in that regard, I know that Tourism Ireland will be working towards the longer-term goal of ensuring that we are successfully marketed as a sustainable tourism destination.'
"Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said, 'As we restart tourism from overseas, we are delighted that Minister Martin is joining us this week at World Travel Market, the world’s largest travel fair. The representation of Irish companies at WTM is extremely welcome - and essential in the highly competitive international marketplace. Every destination across the globe has experienced the impact of COVID-19 and is now seeking its share of the recovery. Tourism Ireland's aim, therefore, is to stand out from the crowd and to capture the attention of the global media and travel professionals in attendance.
'Our 'Green Button' campaign is now under way and will reach 46 million people across Britain. It's a really extensive, multi-channel campaign which is highlighting Ireland as a fantastic destination for a short break or holiday. Our message - and that of the entire Irish tourism industry - is very simple: we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from Great Britain and elsewhere around the world. Together with our industry partners, we will undertake our most extensive marketing campaign ever in 2022.'"
Lyons Leads Drive To Restart Overseas Tourism To NI At World's Largest Travel Fair
In a statement published on its website, Tourism Ireland said, "Economy Minister Gordon Lyons has joined Tourism Ireland and 12 tourism businesses from Northern Ireland at World Travel Market (WTM) in London today.
"WTM heralds the beginning of Northern Ireland's promotional drive overseas for the year ahead. As we restart travel from overseas, Northern Ireland's presence at World Travel Market is more important than ever this year. Every destination across the globe has experienced the impact of COVID-19 and is now seeking its share of the recovery. Northern Ireland is therefore aiming to capture the attention of the global media and travel professionals in attendance.
"This year, WTM is a hybrid event - with the live event taking place over three days between the 1-3 November, and the virtual meetings taking place on 8-9 November. In all, some 25 Northern Ireland tourism companies will engage in important meetings with GB and international tour operators - to negotiate and exchange vital contracts for 2022.
"Economy Minister Gordon Lyons said, 'I welcome the opportunity to be here in person at World Travel Market in London. The scale of this important event in the tourism calendar has brought home to me the competition we face as we continue in our journey to restore the tourism sector to the success it was prior to the pandemic. Our tourism and hospitality industry were particularly hard hit by the pandemic and necessary restrictions however I am pleased that we have started the road to recovery and travellers are returning to our shores.
"'My Department and I work closely with both Tourism Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland and over the last decade have undertaken extensive marketing campaigns to promote Northern Ireland as an international travel destination. Northern Ireland has captured the attention of the global travel industry with awards from Lonely Planet to National Geographic and we have hosted many major conferences, sporting and cultural events. Most recently, I was pleased to welcome the news that The Open would return to Portrush in 2025. With this positive news I am confident we will soon be welcoming the record visitor numbers of 2019.;
"Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said, 'As we restart tourism from overseas, we are delighted that Minister Lyons is joining us this week at World Travel Market, the world’s largest travel fair. The representation of Northern Ireland companies at WTM is extremely welcome - and essential in the highly competitive international marketplace. Every destination across the globe has experienced the impact of COVID-19 and is now seeking its share of the recovery. Tourism Ireland's aim, therefore, is to stand out from the crowd and to capture the attention of the global media and travel professionals in attendance.
"'This autumn, Tourism Ireland has been rolling out a £5 million promotional programme in GB, highlighting Northern Ireland's great cities, spectacular scenery and the many things to see and do. Our 'Green Button' campaign is now under way in GB, with an extensive programme of activity which will reach 46 million people and will continue to drive awareness of Northern Ireland as a great destination for a short break or holiday.'
"Before COVID-19, overseas tourism delivered about £566 million per year for the Northern Ireland economy, helping to sustain valuable employment in local communities."
© 2021 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
