Ireland was showcased to around 150 top French travel journalists, tour operators, travel agents and airline representatives – at Tourism Ireland’s annual St Patrick’s event in Paris, which took place on Wednesday March 14. Minister for Employment Affairs & Social Protection, Regina Doherty TD, and Irish Ambassador to France, Patricia O'Brien, attended the event.
With representatives from Cork Airport, Irish Ferries and Aer Lingus also in attendance, the event was an excellent opportunity to highlight new developments on the access front for 2018 between France and Ireland – which include the new daily Air France flight from Paris to Cork; the extra Brittany Ferries sailing between Roscoff and Cork each week; and the new Irish Ferries cruise ferry, the WB Yeats, which will mean double the current number of sailings from France to Ireland, with daily departures in alternate directions.
“We are delighted that so many influential journalists, tour operators, travel agents and airline representatives took the time to come and hear about the many things to see and do on a holiday in Ireland, as well as the exciting new developments in both air and sea access for 2018,” said Monica MacLaverty, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for Southern Europe. “2017 was the best year ever for Irish tourism from France, when we welcomed almost 550,000 French visitors. We are rolling out an extensive programme of promotional activity once again in 2018, to build on the success of the past few years and continue to grow French visitor numbers.”
