Tourism Minister Catherine Martin promotes Ireland in London

Friday, September 10, 2021

Tourism Minister Catherine Martin is visiting London this week, on her first overseas promotional visit with Tourism Ireland. This is the first major in-person series of events undertaken by Tourism Ireland to promote Ireland since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Marking the reopening of travel from Great Britain to Ireland, Minister Martin’s programme will include a number of tourism and cultural engagements, including:

• a networking dinner at the Embassy of Ireland in London, which will be attended by key British travel trade, carrier and media contacts, as well as key representatives of the Diaspora and cultural communities in London;
• a meeting with UK-based global inbound tour operators, who bring business to Ireland from all over the world (including the US, Mainland Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa); and
• a visit to the London Irish Centre. 

Great Britain is an important market for tourism to the island of Ireland, which pre-COVID, delivered 42% of all overseas visitors and around 25% of all overseas tourism revenue. In 2019, we welcomed almost 4.8 million British visitors to the island of Ireland, whose visits generated around €1.45 billion in revenue.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin TD, said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to visit London and to meet with many influential members of the Tourism Industry. Because of the pandemic, this is my first opportunity to work with the agency overseas and I am very pleased to contribute. That Great Britain is my first stop is testament to the commitment we have to such an important market. The industry has been in survival mode since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and Government support has been critical in this. However, with our latest reopening plan, I believe we can start to look towards recovery.

“Whilst I was very pleased to see that tourism experienced a very good domestic summer season, I am aware that challenges remain for the sector. The greatest of these challenges remains the low level of international tourists compared to pre-pandemic levels. With this in mind I am delighted to announce that Tourism Ireland have activated the Green Button campaign and it will launch on October 1st in Great Britain. I am really excited about the new campaign and I want to wish the team at Tourism Ireland every success. The key message is that we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from our near neighbours in Great Britain.”

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “We are delighted that Minister Martin is joining us overseas for the first time in London this week, to mark the reopening of travel from Great Britain to Ireland. She will have the opportunity to hear about the importance of the British market at first-hand from our key media, travel trade and carrier partners. She will be assuring them that we look forward to working closely with them in the months and years ahead – to rebuild tourism to the island of Ireland, for the long-term sustainable future of our industry.

“Key priorities to ensure success will include rebuilding consumer confidence; as well as air and sea connectivity, which is vital as an island destination. Tourism Ireland, together with our tourism industry partners from around the island of Ireland, will participate in a number of significant events in Great Britain, such as World Travel Market 2021, Flavours of Ireland 2021 and Ireland Meets GB. These upcoming events will allow our partners to highlight and sell their product to key contacts in Great Britain – encouraging them to feature Ireland in their 2022 holiday and tour programmes. We will also roll out our new ‘Green Button’ campaign in Britain, which is a €4.6 million multi-media promotional campaign that will be seen by millions of people across Britain. It aims to generate awareness of the island of Ireland and drive bookings for short breaks and holidays in Ireland, between now and the end of 2021. Our key message is that we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from Great Britain.”

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