He has become one of Britain’s best known faces by helping people find their dream home on Channel 4’s hit show Location, Location, Location.
But TV presenter Phil Spencer, one half of the popular duo Phil and Kirsty, took a break from property hunting recently to enjoy a different type of west coast location.
Mr Spencer teamed up with Tourism Ireland to make a promotional film about the Wild Atlantic Way, the west coast driving route that takes in the Mayo coastline, and the film now looks set to reach 6.5 million in Great Britain, which is Ireland’s most important tourism market.
It is hoped the promotional film will bring more autumn visitors to the Wild Atlantic Way, extending the traditional tourism season.
The film is being promoted on the website of the biggest classical radio station in the world - Classic FM, where Spencer also presents a popular programme.
Britain is the largest market for the Irish tourism sector, according to Tourism Ireland, and the number of visitors from Great Britain is increasing.
Visitor numbers increased by 11.3 per cent this year from January to July, compared with the same seven month period last year.
“We are determined to ensure that tourism growth continues,” said Vanessa Markey, Tourism Ireland’s head of Britain.
She said the films are a highly targeted promotion intended to appeal to the “independent, active sightseers, who are typically looking to visit new places and expand their experience by exploring landscapes, history and culture.”
Tourism Ireland has identified and dubbed this large target market group the ‘culturally curious’.
“Our promotion with Phil Spencer and Classic FM fits very well with this important demographic and is just one element of the more extensive autumn campaign that we will be rolling out very soon – all aimed at boosting late-season travel to Ireland from Great Britain and our other markets around the world.”
