Tourism Ireland has welcomed the inaugural Aer Lingus flight from Seattle to Dublin, which took off on Friday May 18. The four times weekly service is expected to boost tourism from the US market this year, offering more choice to prospective American visitors living in Washington.
Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s head of North America, said, “The new Aer Lingus service between Seattle and Dublin is good news for tourism to the island of Ireland. We are rolling out an advertising campaign in conjunction with Aer Lingus right now, highlighting an attractive fare to maximise the promotion of this new service and to drive bookings for summer and autumn travel. As an island, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated – they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.
“In 2017, we welcomed a record 1.83 million North American visitors to the island of Ireland. In 2018, we are confident that our strategy – combined with more airline seats than ever before from the US, as well as the strength and competitiveness of the vacation experience right around the island of Ireland – will deliver further growth. Our aim is to deliver a 5% increase in visitor numbers and 7% increase in revenue from North America in 2018.”
© 2018 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
