Mr. Niall Gibbons:

Our team was on a call to the Department of Foreign Affairs just before we came here. We liaise closely with them on any state visits. They give us an opportunity for exposure. This one is unique, obviously, with the President's Irish ancestry, and his connections with counties Louth and Mayo. There has been a significant increase in what I call genealogy tourism, particularly as a result of Covid when people were locked down. There was a lot more searching going on. It gives us capacity in that space. The biggest part of any promotion in these state visits tends to be the media corps that travels.

A significant media contingent will come with the president and it provides opportunities for rural areas. We are finding that there is greater interest in genealogy.

Regarding screen tourism, we have someone specifically dedicated within our organisation. We were out with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, in Los Angeles this year launching a movie we had made ourselves, "Ireland", the movie, narrated by Liam Neeson. We also had an opportunity to connect with many people within the movie industry from Ireland who went out there and also people on the ground. We are finding that we are building relationships with people involved in the production and distribution in the background, so to speak, and the conversations are happening at a much earlier stage. If we were having this conversation ten years ago, the conversation would be coming in at the end when the film was being distributed. Now we are involved much more on the production side.

For example, Searchlight Pictures, which made "The Banshees of Inisherin", made that two-minute movie for us when we got in. We got them to talk about the characters and the landscape to bring the destination to life. Irish people will obviously think about Achill, but abroad it becomes more about Ireland. It is a great platform for all of us. It is a great opportunity to promote rural Ireland. The impact that film and screen have on an audience is significant.