Tourism Ireland has announced its Global Greening line-up for St Patrick's Day 2017 which will see some of the world's most famous attractions and sites go green to celebrate Ireland's national day.
The campaign, which is in its eight year, will see the World Trade Center in New York; City Hall and Heron Tower in London; Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona; the UNESCO World Heritage City Hall in Antwerp; the Cloth Hall in Ypres; as well as the Cannes red carpet join Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening for the first time on 17 March. The campaign is part of the organisation's major first half promotional drive to grow overseas tourism in 2017.
These new sites will join the London Eye and Nelson’s Column in London; the Colosseum in Rome; the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Burj al Arab in Dubai; the Roue de Paris; the ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas; Niagara Falls; the Empire State Building in New York; the Sky Tower in New Zealand; and the Great Wall of China.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD, said: "From modest beginnings in 2010, the Global Greening initiative has grown to become a significant worldwide reminder of both St Patrick’s Day itself and also of Ireland and its appeal as a visitor destination. From a tourism perspective, the true value of the Global Greening initiative is in the huge level of public interest and consequently media coverage that is generated about St Patrick’s Day and Ireland. The Global Greening is a prime example of the strong return on public investment that is provided by Tourism Ireland’s overseas marketing activity, which is reflected in Ireland’s exceptional tourism performance."
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: "This is the eighth year of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative and each year I am delighted to see even more well-known attractions and landmark sites wishing to get involved and join our St Patrick’s celebrations. The success of our Global Greening initiative is due in no small part to the great work that has been carried out across the world by Irish people down the generations and, in particular, to the great support we’ve received from the Irish embassy network and the diaspora. There will be saturation coverage of the island of Ireland across the airwaves, in newspapers and digital media – and that’s an invaluable boost at this time of year for our overall tourism marketing drive for 2017."
