Outgoing Taoiseach Enda Kenny is visiting Chicago on a trade and investment mission this week.
Yesterday (June 6), he took the time to support Tourism Ireland’s promotional efforts by meeting with a number of tour operators, airlines and incentive travel planners who programme and actively sell Ireland for both leisure and business travellers.
The United States is one of the greatest contributors of tourism to Ireland, with over one in ten Americans who travel to Europe visiting the emerald isle.
Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons stated, “In 2016, we welcomed a record 1.6 million North American visitors to the island of Ireland, worth over €1.3 billion million to our economy. Tourism Ireland has prioritised North America for 2017, as a market which offers a strong return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure.”
Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, Alison Metcalfe, added, “We have seen superb growth in North American visitor numbers so far again this year, with the most recent CSO figures for February to April 2017 showing growth of almost 26% – an extra 73,100 North American visitors compared with the same three-month period last year.”
