Tourism Ireland has been promoting the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in France and Great Britain.
Capitalising On Six Nations
Tourism Ireland in France joined forces with Irish dance group Cairde, which is best known for their videos on TikTok, to coincide with the France v Ireland clash in the Six Nations at the weekend.
Specially timed to coincide with the France v Ireland clash in the Six Nations at the weekend, the group danced their way through the streets of Paris to raise awareness of Ireland among unsuspecting Parisians and rugby fans.
The dancers performed their routine at some iconic locations around Paris, including the Eiffel Tower and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica, with the highlight being a ‘dance-off’ at the Moulin Rouge involving Cairde and seven Can-Can dancers.
A number of French TV crews filmed the group in action, beaming their dancing into the homes of millions of people around France, and the Cairde dancers shared the content with their 2.6 million followers on TikTok and their 352,000 followers on Instagram, while Tourism Ireland also shared the content with its fans and followers on its social media platforms in France, reminding them that Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage.
At the Stade de France on Saturday 12 February, when France and Ireland went head-to-head, the Cairde dancers performed at the interval and the stadium was lit up in green, bringing the Ireland message to the thousands of rugby fans in the stadium, as well as to the many people all around France watching the game on TV.
Tourism Ireland's manager southern Europe, Monica MacLaverty, stated, "As France play Ireland in the Six Nations in Paris this weekend, we are delighted to work with Cairde to highlight the island of Ireland in a fun way here in France. Our aim is to bring a smile to the faces of people…and to convey the message that Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage. Our message is that Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to welcome back visitors from France. We're telling prospective French visitors that a warm welcome awaits them when they travel to Ireland, despite the disruption of the last couple of years."
Tourism Ireland Announces 2022 Plans To French Travel Professionals And Journalists
Additionally, Tourism Ireland in France announced its plans for 2022 at an event in Paris attended by 80 leading French tour operators, travel agents and journalists.
Designed to entertain and inform the guests all about Ireland and to really bring the destination to life, the event included a presentation from Tourism Ireland, as well as gin tasting from The Shed Distillery in Drumshanbo. Guests were entertained by musicians from the Belfast Traditional Music Trail as well as by Cairde.
Tourism Ireland said that it will undertake an extensive programme of promotional activity in France throughout 2022. Its Green Button campaign is now live on multiple channels including all major TV channels, digital outdoor sites, catch-up TV sites and online video sites, as well as on social media. Tourism Ireland said that the campaign delivers a very clear "book now" message and aims to single-mindedly drive visitor numbers and intention to book a trip to Ireland this year.
Speaking at the event in Paris, MacLaverty said, "We were delighted that so many key French travel professionals and journalists took the time to join us, to hear about our exciting plans for 2022 and the many great reasons for French holidaymakers to visit Ireland this year.
"We are rolling out our Green Button campaign in France right now - urging French travellers to 'press the Green Button' and book their trip to Ireland this year. Our key message is that Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to welcome back visitors from France. We're telling prospective French visitors that a warm welcome awaits them when they travel to Ireland, despite the disruption of the last couple of years."
Tourism Ireland Launches £3.5m Promotional Campaign In GB
Tourism Ireland's promotional activities in France followed its launched of a £3.5 million multi-media promotional campaign to boost travel to Northern Ireland from GB over the coming months.
In a statement published on its website, Tourism Ireland said that the campaign will be seen by millions and will reach at least 75% of all adults in GB, and that it will generate demand and drive bookings for short breaks and holidays in Northern Ireland.
Tourism Ireland stated that the campaign will include advertising on major TV channels, digital outdoor ads running on more than 315 sites across GB, ads on popular digital and social channels, co-operative promotions with airlines and ferry operators serving Northern Ireland, and a busy programme of publicity, as well as a new music partnership to highlight the recent designation of Belfast as a UNESCO City of Music.
The statement announcing the launch of the campaign published on Tourism Ireland's website included a statement from Northern Ireland economy minister Gordon Lyons MLA, in which he said, "Tourism is an enormously important industry for Northern Ireland and will be a key driver for our economy as we re-build and re-grow from the devastating impact of the COVID pandemic. I very much welcome the new Tourism Ireland £3.5 million Green Button/Embrace a Giant Spirit campaign to promote Northern Ireland in GB.
"Northern Ireland is well known for its fantastic tourism product, including the beautiful Causeway Coastal Route, the historic city of Londonderry, the fantastic lakelands of Fermanagh, and of course, our capital city, Belfast, with our maritime history highlighted at Titanic Belfast, a truly world-class visitor attraction. Just last week I attended the preview of the spectacular new Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Banbridge, which will be the only officially licensed Game of Thrones experience in the world and is now open and ready to welcome visitors.
"The GB market continues to be a vitally important one for our tourism industry at this time of regrowth and I am confident that this campaign will yet again show the best of what Northern Ireland has to offer. Our tour operators, visitor attractions, hospitality businesses and accommodation providers are ready to welcome our GB customers to enjoy all that Northern Ireland has to offer."
The statement announcing the launch of the campaign published on Tourism Ireland's website also included a statement from Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons, in which he said, "We are delighted to unveil our new £3.5 million campaign to promote Northern Ireland in GB - which will highlight our great cities, spectacular scenery and the many things to see and do here. As we continue to rebuild our tourism business from the all-important GB market, our aim is to remind prospective visitors that Northern Ireland is the perfect destination for a short break or holiday. Tourism Ireland will be pulling out all the stops to drive as much business as possible to Northern Ireland over the coming months."
Tourism Ireland added that GB is an important market for tourism to Northern Ireland, with close to 1.5 million GB visitors arriving in Northern Ireland in pre-COVID-19 pandemic 2019, and those visits generated £369 million in revenue.
© 2022 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
