Ireland's tourism industry has taken a battering in the last year but there are signs of recovery with the country’s patron saint even taking a hand.
Speaking to TTN, Tourism Ireland, director for new and developing markets Jim Paul said: “Last year was a difficult year for Ireland. Our main source markets have traditionally been Britain and two years ago we saw close to five million arrivals from Britain alone.
“In 2009, the exchange rate made it a very difficult year and arrivals dropped by 15 per cent which is about one million people. We also saw a drop in arrivals from the US.”
However, the country is seeing signs of improvement, especially from the US and Australian markets.
“It’s too early to predict arrivals from Britain as there is a short booking period for holidays and short breaks now. But with events like St Patrick’s Day when the Sydney Opera House and London Eye are lit up green and rivers are painted green in Chicago, it gives us tremendous exposure and hopefully will turn into good bookings for us,” he added.
According to Paul, the UAE currently accounts for approximately 15,000 arrivals with a further 40-50,000 visitors coming from the rest of the Middle East. “Interestingly, last year India and the UAE were two countries that showed growth,” he said. “With Etihad increasing frequencies to 10 weekly flights, more and more people are taking the time to travel around Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland including Belfast.”
Besides developing markets such as China, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand – although the last two are more mature with approx 170,000 arrivals – Tourism Ireland continues to increase awareness of the product it offers. “We see the large potential in arrivals from markets like China and India and want to begin our ground work now,” said Paul.
Tourism Ireland will be present at the Arabian Travel Market 2010 in Dubai.