The 43rd annual Milwaukee Irish Fest – the largest celebration of Irish culture and heritage in the United States – took place recently on the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. The four-day festival – which has a huge audience of more than 130,000 visitors – was an ideal opportunity for Tourism Ireland to showcase the island of Ireland as a superb holiday destination to our important Diaspora audience and people with an interest in Ireland, inspiring them to come and visit.
A delegation of tourism enterprises from around the island of Ireland, including Galway County Council and Galway City Council, also attended this year’s festival – all highlighting the many things to see and do here for American holidaymakers.
Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, said: “The Milwaukee Irish Fest provides a really good platform for Tourism Ireland to showcase Galway and the island of Ireland, including our rich heritage and culture, to prospective American visitors. It’s a wonderful opportunity to inspire some of the many people of Irish descent who’re living and working in the US, as well as those with Irish connections or an affinity for Ireland, to come and visit.
“The United States remains an extremely important market for tourism to the island of Ireland. In 2023, we welcomed over 1.1 million American tourists to Ireland. It’s our most important market in terms of revenue, responsible for around 30% of all tourist revenue in 2023.”
