The tourism drive in the US continues, as top American travel writers came to Ireland last week, to take part in the renowned Travel Classics writers’ conference. As part of the conference, hosted by Tourism Ireland, the journalists enjoyed a fact-finding visit around Ireland, which included some of the wonderful sights and attractions of counties Westmeath, Offaly, and Laois. During their visit, the group enjoyed a cruise on the River Shannon from Athlone, stopping off at Clonmacnoise in Offaly. They also visited the Celtic Roots Studio at Ballinahown and spent the night at the newly-opened Ballyfin hotel in Laois.
Attendees of the conference included editors from a wide range of high profile publications, including National Geographic Traveler, Travel & Leisure, and Saveur, all of which reach hundreds of thousands of readers across North America as well as globally. The conference and trip will give the journalists a fantastic opportunity to collect many interesting stories, inspiring numerous new works and articles, and leading to huge exposure for the Midlands and Ireland in top travel publications around the US.
Speaking about the conference and trip, Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “The last couple of months have been an excellent time for promoting Ireland in the US market. In May, we welcomed President Obama and Rory McIlroy’s recent US Open win has got American eyes turned to Ireland once again. We are delighted to welcome some of the most influential and prominent travel journalists from the US, to show them at first-hand what makes the Midlands and the island of Ireland unique.
“Figures for the first quarter of 2011 showed growth of almost 12 per cent in visitors from the United States, an encouraging basis on which we will build. North America is an extremely important market for tourism to the island of Ireland and Tourism Ireland is focused on returning the market to growth in 2011.”
