TOURISM IRELAND has revealed details of its €78million marketing strategy to promote the island of Ireland overseas in 2023.
They launched their plans at an event attended by Ireland’s Tourism Minister Catherine Martin and around 500 tourism industry leaders from around the country on Monday, January 16.
Adverts within the marketing campaign will feature actor Sharon Horgan, from Bad Sisters, as well as Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell, from Derry Girls.
The organisation confirmed it aims to rebuild revenue from overseas holidaymakers to pre-pandemic levels – by attracting ‘value-adding tourists’, which they describe as “visitors who stay longer, spend more in the regions and in Northern Ireland, arrive during the shoulder season and consider their impact on the environment”, and by focusing on markets that deliver the greatest revenue.
They added that this will be achieved through a “wide range of promotional activities”, which will include major marketing campaigns, publicity and programming, social media and digital marketing, as well as working with the tourism industry at home and the travel trade overseas to facilitate sales.
Their programme of activity for the year ahead comes with a marketing budget of €78million and will be rolled out with “sustainability” at its heart.
Speaking at the launch, Tourism Minister Catherine Martin said: “I want to commend Tourism Ireland for the comprehensive marketing strategy they have put in place for 2023.
“In particular, I welcome the focus on embedding sustainability across all its activities, the increased consideration of the environmental impacts of tourism and the focus on increasing representation of holidaymaker diversity.”
She added: “International travel to Ireland rebounded strongly in 2022, but the sector continues to face significant challenges, therefore it is vital that we continue to invest in overseas marketing and the additional funding of €15million that I secured in Budget 2023 will enable Tourism Ireland to significantly ramp up its promotion of Ireland as world-class tourism experience in key markets.”
The new campaign will go live from St Patrick’s Day in our top four tourism markets – Great Britain, the United States, Germany and France – and will then be rolled out in nine other important tourism markets around the world.
Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “As we emerge from Covid, our priority for the year ahead is to drive the return of revenue from overseas holidaymakers to pre-pandemic levels and to ensure that overseas tourism contributes to economic sustainability.
"In 2023, we will roll out an extensive and targeted programme of promotional activity around the globe. We are excited to unveil our new ‘Fill your heart with Ireland’ global campaign, which will highlight our rich and authentic experiences, breath-taking landscapes and, in particular, our warm welcome.
“We are very aware that there is much uncertainty in the short-term – with ever-changing and significant risks right now, including the war in Ukraine and its implications on the cost of doing business.
"However, there is optimism for the long-term health of overseas tourism.
"Our job is to ensure that interest in Ireland, and the recovery in demand for holidays here, continues and that our industry returns to profitability.
“Above all, the need for Tourism Ireland to adopt a flexible and agile approach, taken over recent years, will continue in 2023 and beyond.”
