Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland; Nadine Jones, Jones & Co; Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland; and Suzy McPhail, TTC (The Travel Corporation) Touring Brands, before Tourism Ireland’s trade and media networking event in Melbourne.
Tourism Ireland is getting ready to roll out its Green Button campaign in Australia from late August. Now that Australia has lifted all of its remaining Covid-19 travel restrictions and its borders have re-opened, the time is right for Tourism Ireland to restart tourism from Australia to the island of Ireland.
Tourism Ireland senior managers recently undertook a week-long programme of engagements with key travel trade, media and airline contacts in Sydney, Melbourne and Auckland.
Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s Acting Chief Executive, said: “Before COVID-19, in 2019, we welcomed 252,000 Australian and New Zealand visitors, whose visits delivered €245 million for the economy. Since the spring of 2020, Tourism Ireland has been working hard to keep the lights on for the island of Ireland in Australia and New Zealand, inspiring people about future travel and sharing news about the great experiences awaiting Australian and New Zealand travellers.
“We know that there is now pent-up demand for travel. Our message is that the island of Ireland is open for business again and we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from Australia and New Zealand.”
Australia is the final launch-pad for Tourism Ireland’s global campaign, which kicked off in autumn 2021. The campaign is rolling out this year in all of Ireland’s other key tourism markets – including Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.