Tourism Ireland has teamed up with Flybe and Ireland West Airport Knock, to promote flights to Knock from Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh and grow tourist numbers to the west of Ireland this autumn. The joint campaign will run in Britain during August and September.
Working closely with airlines and airports to build demand for flights is a key priority for Tourism Ireland and this campaign includes an online article in the Daily Record in Scotland titled ‘Nine exciting things to do along the Wild Atlantic Way’ and an online article in the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News titled ‘Nine fun and exciting things to do along west Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way’ – highlighting the enchanting and culturally rich coastal touring routes in counties Mayo, Galway, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and Donegal to millions of potential British holidaymakers. It also includes online ads on websites which will reach our key ‘culturally curious’ and ‘great escaper’ audiences.
Joe Gilmore, managing director, Ireland West Airport, welcoming the commencement of this major overseas promotional campaign, said: "We are delighted to partner with Tourism Ireland and Flybe on the biggest promotional campaign the airport has undertaken in recent years. Flybe have been a long standing partner of the airport and the commencement of their new services earlier this year from Birmingham and Edinburgh have been a major boost for the west and northwest of Ireland, as has their long standing Manchester service. Furthermore we are delighted to see fantastic exposure for all the counties in our region throughout this campaign, highlighting some of the wonderful attractions and activities available for tourists when they come west."
Julie Wakely, Tourism Ireland’s deputy head of Great Britain, said: “We are delighted to partner with Flybe and Ireland West Airport Knock once again, to maximise the promotion of flights from Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Manchester and help grow tourist numbers to Mayo and the west of Ireland this autumn. As an island, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated – they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.
"Great Britain is the largest market for tourism to the island of Ireland and we have seen excellent growth in British visitor numbers so far again this year, with the most recent CSO figures for January to June showing a 16 per cent increase. We will continue to roll out an extensive programme of promotions in Britain this autumn, to keep the momentum going and boost business in the shoulder and off-peak season.”
