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Representatives of Kerry County Council, who were in New York for the St Patrick’s Day period, met with senior executives from Tourism Ireland this week. They were briefed on Tourism Ireland’s extensive promotional programme in the United States for 2018, which is in full swing right now.

The United States is the second-largest market for tourism to the island of Ireland. 2017 was the fifth record-breaking year in a row for Irish tourism from the US, when we welcomed a record 1.83 million American visitors. Tourism Ireland recently launched a new strategy to continue to grow tourism from the United States, setting out ambitious targets which will see the island of Ireland welcome 2 million American visitors per year by 2021, representing growth of +23%; and will see revenue generated by American holidaymakers increase by +33%, to €1.37 billion per year.

Our important ‘culturally curious’ and ‘social energiser’ audiences are being targeted with distinctive vacation experiences, events and special offers tailored to their interests. Tourism Ireland is creating ‘stand out’ for the island of Ireland in the US, highlighting experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way, the Causeway Coastal Route and Ireland’s Ancient East. Promotions aim to grow travel to the regions of Ireland, during the shoulder and off-peak seasons.

“We were delighted to meet with the representatives of Kerry County Council and to have the opportunity to brief them about the extensive promotional programme we are undertaking in the United States this year,” said Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America.

“St Patrick’s Day traditionally marks the real start of the tourism season for us; our aim is to bring a smile to the faces of people everywhere and to convey the message that Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage. We are using every opportunity to capitalise on Ireland’s heightened profile around St Patrick’s Day; the saturation coverage about Ireland at this time of year – across the airwaves, in newspapers and digital media – is an invaluable boost for our overall tourism marketing drive in 2018.”

Tourism Ireland participated in and promoted the island of Ireland at a range of St Patrick’s Day events across the United States. Numerous landmarks and iconic sites participated in Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative to celebrate St Patrick and Ireland – including the ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas, City Hall in San Francisco, Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi and the world-famous Niagara Falls.