13 May 2016
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
PIC SHOWS: (back, l-r) Ruth McCarthy, Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa; Paula Carroll, Ashford Castle; Siobhan Byrne Learat, Adams & Butler; Róisín Wallace, Manor House & Irish Country Hotels; Carol Hinch, Ballynahinch Castle Hotel; Stephanie Hayes, Clontarf Castle; Paul Shortall, Lough Erne Resort; Hillarie McGuinness, Tourism Ireland; Ruthie Coleman, The Merrion Hotel, Dublin; and (front, l-r) Mark O’Dwyer, Secret Escapes; Conor Donnelly, Beech Hill Country House Hotels; Billy Condon, Tourism Ireland; and American actor and presenter Colin Hamell.
Ten tourism companies from Ireland, including Inchydoney island Lodge & Spa, headed stateside recently, to join Tourism Ireland in Arizona.
First stop was a ‘Jump into Ireland’ event in Phoenix, where the participating Irish companies had the opportunity to meet, and do business with, some 50 top-producing travel agents, as well as influential travel journalists. Then it was on to Tucson, to take part in this year’s Global Travel Marketplace West (GTM West) – a three-day, appointment-only event targeting key travel professionals from the western states of the US.
Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, said: “2015 was another record-breaking year for Irish tourism from the United States and Canada; and the outlook for this year is also positive, with the most recent CSO figures for Q1 showing growth of +24.5% in visitors from North America. We are undertaking an extensive programme of promotions throughout 2016, to keep the momentum going and build on that growth. Our sales blitz and promotions in Arizona provided a really good platform to spread the word about the many great things to see and do right around the island of Ireland.”
Similar ‘Jump into Ireland’ events will take place in Sarasota (Florida), in August; and in San Francisco, Los Angeles (California) and Seattle (Washington), in November.
