Tourism Ireland has presented its new strategy for Germany to the group of senior German travel professionals who are part of its Marketing Partnership Group (MPG). The MPG is made up of leading German tour operators, as well as air and sea carriers, and is the official vehicle for consulting with tourism partners in Germany.
The new Tourism Ireland strategy sets out targets which will see Ireland welcome 800,000 German visitors per year by 2021, representing growth of 20%, and will see revenue generated by holiday visitors increase by 27% to €375 million per year. Feedback about the strategy from the MPG was extremely positive.
Germany is the third-largest market for tourism to Ireland and in 2017 Ireland welcomed around 660,000 German visitors. Furthermore, revenue from German visitors to Ireland grew by 62% in the period 2012-2016, driven by a combination of effective marketing and sales activity, more direct flights, and positive macro-economic conditions.
Zoe Redmond, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said, “Germany has performed extremely well for tourism to the island of Ireland in recent years and the future is undoubtedly bright. We believe that this is a market of considerable potential for Irish tourism over the coming years. However, we certainly don’t take the performance for granted; we need to adapt and respond to new opportunities to ensure that success continues. I am confident that our new, focused strategy will deliver on the challenging targets we have set for growth in German visitors, between now and 2021.”
The new strategy has been developed in close co-operation with Fáilte Ireland and Tourism NI, as well a wide range of industry partners, in Ireland and in Germany. It has identified the market segments and opportunities which will drive strong growth from Germany to the island of Ireland over the coming four years.
