Mr. Mark Henry:

I thank the Chairman and the members for giving me the opportunity to address the joint committee. I am the central marketing director at Tourism Ireland. I am here to represent our chief executive, Mr. Niall Gibbons, who met the Chairman yesterday and has asked me to pass on his apologies owing to his attendance at overseas promotions in Canada. I am joined by Ms Siobhan McManamy, our head of co-operative marketing.
As members will know, Tourism Ireland is responsible for marketing the island of Ireland overseas. The organisation was established in one of the six areas in which there would be co-operation under the framework of the Good Friday Agreement. We work closely with the two tourist boards on the island of Ireland, Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. The principal objectives of the company are to increase tourism revenue and numbers to the island of Ireland and support Northern Ireland to realise its tourism potential. We carry out extensive destination marketing campaigns in key source markets for tourism to the island of Ireland. Our major promotional effort is focused on the four key markets that together deliver the majority of overseas visitors - Great Britain, the United States, Germany and France. In addition, we are rolling out trade marketing and publicity campaigns in a further 18 markets.
Overseas tourism is one of Ireland’s largest indigenous industries. It accounts for almost 60% of all tourism revenue and has the capacity to deliver even more for the economies on the island. Last year was another positive one for tourism. Eight million overseas visitors came to the island of Ireland, an increase of 7% on the figure for 2012, contributing revenue of approximately €3.9 billion, an increase of 12% for the economies on the island. Holidaymaker numbers grew strongly by 9% and contributed more than €1.7 billion in revenue. This growth was driven by strong increases in visitor numbers from all of our market areas worldwide. In fact, we saw the highest number of visitors ever in 2013 from North America, Germany, France, Spain and our long-haul markets, with visitors from Australia, in particular, driving that growth. It was also particularly encouraging to see a return to growth of 7% from the British market.
Working closely with Fáilte Ireland, The Gathering was a major focus of Tourism Ireland’s promotions throughout 2013. It saw huge engagement with the Diaspora worldwide and an increased focus on the promotion of roots tourism by Tourism Ireland. Ourinternational marketing of The Gathering Ireland reached an estimated 200 million people worldwide through a wide range of media and promotional activities, including television and print advertising, as well as an innovative digital strategy highlighting the many great reasons to visit Ireland during the year. Publicity was an integral element of the promotional programme; 1,500 international journalists visited during the year and then wrote and broadcast extensively about Ireland and The Gathering, generating an estimated €75 million in positive publicity specifically for The Gathering worldwide. Our success in promoting The Gathering was recognised by the Marketing Institute of Ireland last month when Tourism Ireland received the award for the most successful international marketing campaign of the year by an Irish organisation.
In order to capitalise on the increasingly central role of the Internet in travel and holiday planning, as my colleague, Mr. Quinn mentioned, Tourism Ireland invests heavily in digital marketing. Our suite of international websites attracted 13.5 million unique visitors in 2013 and Ireland.comhas been rolled out in 30 markets around the world in ten languages. We have grown our Facebook fan base from a couple of thousand at the beginning of 2010 to over 2.2 million today, giving us the fourth largest tourist board presence after Australia, the United States and Britain.

In consultation with industry partners, Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, we have developed a strategy and an action plan to return the British market, our largest and most important, to sustained growth. These were rolled out during 2013, with promotions targeting new groups that were receptive to the type of experience Ireland was best placed to offer. I refer to the culturally curious, social energiser and great escaper segments.
The most recent figures for overseas travel to the Republic of Ireland show growth of 9% for the period January to April 2014 by comparison with the same period in 2013. There was a strong increase in British visitor numbers of 14% during this period and growth from other important tourism markets, including North America and other long-haul markets. In the first quarter alone, the number of holidaymakers specifically increased by 8%. However, it should be said attractions and accommodation providers in urban centres and tourism hot spots are generally more buoyant than rural locations.
This year we undertook an extensive St. Patrick’s Day marketing programme. Our annual Global Greening initiative has gone from strength to strength, from its beginnings in 2010, with just the Sydney Opera House going green, to this year when more than 100 landmark buildings and iconic sites turned a shade of green for our national day, including sites such as the Great Wall of China, the Great Pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx in Egypt, the Treasury in the ancient city of Petra and the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. At least one part of Brazil is turning green this year.
Another key focus in the early part of the year was on promoting the Grande Partenza of the Giro d’Italia which took place in May. This highly anticipated event was a tremendous success, bringing positive messages and showcasing our spectacular scenery to some 775 million viewers in 164 countries.
We are placing a major focus on touring holidays this year, in particular highlighting the Wild Atlantic Way. As members know, it is Ireland’s first long distance touring route, stretching from the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal all the way to Kinsale, County Cork. Let me give some examples of the ways in which we are promoting the Wild Atlantic Way in key overseas markets. In Britain television advertisements highlighting the Wild Atlantic Way have been airing across the UK television networks, reaching an audience of some 14 million consumers. In the United States a national television campaign featuring the Wild Atlantic Way reached millions of potential American visitors earlier this year. Advertisements promoting the Wild Atlantic Way are running in over 2,600 cinemas throughout France and will reach over 5 million cinemagoers. In Germany this spring almost 700,000 commuters saw Wild Atlantic Way advertisements on large illuminated posters that were prominently displayed at bus and tram stops in the cities of Cologne and Düsseldorf. These are just a few examples; I could give many others. Our promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way will continue throughout 2014 and beyond.
The first ever designation of Limerick as the national city of culture presents Tourism Ireland with a wonderful opportunity to increase awareness of the city around the world this year as a cultural and historic destination. We are highlighting Limerick in our promotions, taking every opportunity to leverage the tourism benefits of this year-long celebration of culture for the city. The organisation has an extra special focus on Limerick in its promotional programmes in Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany and Canada.
We are working closely with Fáilte Ireland to promote overseas other regions in Ireland through, for example, initiatives such as Dublin’s Doorstep which highlights the counties of Meath, Kildare, Laois and their environs, featuring attractions such as the Boyne Valley touring route and the Kildare-Wicklow grand tour route. We are also highlighting the fact that Waterford is Ireland’s oldest city, celebrating its 1,100th anniversary this year. Attractions such as the Viking Triangle in Waterford and festivals such as the Waterford Food Festival, Wexford Festival Opera, the Cork Jazz Festival and Kilkenny Cat Laughs Comedy Festival also feature as part of our promotional activity overseas.
We are specifically building on the legacy of The Gathering this year, continuing to reach out to the Diaspora across the world through, for example, participation in events such as “Who Do you Think You Are? Live”, the family history and genealogy event in Britain; sponsorship of Irish-American events; advertorials in publications such as The Irish Post and Irish Americamagazine; and our own Ireland Family History Facebook page which was set up last year to connect with those with Irish heritage and which will remain a central focus of our marketing of Ireland in Britain and elsewhere around the world.
The high-yield business tourism sector continues to be an extremely important focus of our marketing efforts. In Britain, for example, we will have a presence at 11 key events during 2014, including The Meetings Show in the Olympia in London in July. Presentations, workshops and networking events, as well as familiarisation visits for influential corporate meetings and incentive buyers, are the mainstay of our activity in this area.
While the majority of our overseas visitors come from the core markets of Great Britain, North America and mainland Europe, we have also expanded our focus beyond these markets to look to the long-term opportunities presented by markets such as China, India and the Middle East. Visitors from long-haul markets stay twice as long as the average holidaymaker and are more likely to travel throughout the island and make a significant economic contribution to numerous tourism sectors. We welcome the launch on Monday last of a joint visa initiative between Ireland and the United Kingdom which will commence this autumn with China and India. We will be working closely with our colleagues in VisitBritain to leverage the benefits of the new scheme in these markets. Of course, since this is an island, convenient and competitive air and sea connectivity is vital if we are to continue to grow overseas tourism numbers to Ireland.
Last year saw a number of positive developments, including a 26% increase in the number of airline seats between the United States and Ireland for the peak season, from June to August. Announcements of new and additional services – by both air and sea carriers – for 2014 augur well for the continuing success of overseas tourism. Total available capacity to the Republic of Ireland for the peak summer season in 2014 is estimated to be up 6% on last summer, with double digit increases from France, Germany, North America and the Middle East.
We continue to invest in co-operative marketing activity with air and sea carriers in key markets to stimulate demand for services into Ireland. A busy programme of co-operative campaigns with carriers has been under way this year, highlighting ease of access and great fares. We are also in dialogue with airports, seaports and carriers on an ongoing basis to identify opportunities and case-make for the introduction of new services from key markets.
Having experienced three years of growth in the number of leisure visitors to Ireland, we are optimistic about the potential for future growth in the years ahead. The sectoral targets we are working towards will see the island of Ireland welcome 8.9 million visitors per year by 2016, generating almost €4.5 billion in revenue. This will include almost 4.3 million holidaymakers, generating €2.7 billion in revenue.
I hope this introductory statement has given members a flavour of the extensive marketing programmes Tourism Ireland has in place to grow overseas tourism to Ireland in the months and years ahead. We will continue to work closely with our tourism partners, both at home and overseas, to achieve our common objectives and help to drive economic regeneration, growth and, ultimately, jobs.