~ Recent announcements about new flights augur well for future tourism from US ~
~ Tourism Ireland welcomes Notre Dame and Navy teams and fans to Ireland ~
25 August 2023 – The future looks bright for tourism to the island of Ireland from the United States – according to Tourism Ireland.
Recent announcements of new flights for 2024 between the United States and Ireland augur well for Irish tourism. Aer Lingus will launch a new flight from Denver to Dublin in May 2024 and will reinstate its Minneapolis-St Paul to Dublin service from the end of April. Delta has also announced a new flight from Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Dublin, complementing its services from New York JFK (year-round), Atlanta and Boston. American Airlines’ flight from Charlotte to Dublin will begin on 5 March 2024, earlier than expected. And American’s Dallas to Dublin flight will expand to become a year-round service. The addition and expansion of these transatlantic services is really good news and will certainly help boost tourism from the United States to Ireland in 2024 and beyond.
And, this weekend, more than 40,000 international fans will be in Dublin for the opening game of the 2023 College Football season between Notre Dame and Navy, including over 39,000 from the United States. The match – Notre Dame’s first home game in Ireland – is expected to deliver around €147 million to our economy. It will be broadcast on NBC TV in the United States and will be seen by at least 3.75 million people – providing a fantastic opportunity to highlight Ireland in the US as a wonderful holiday destination, as well as a top location for sporting events.
Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s Interim Chief Executive, said: “Recent announcements about new and expanded transatlantic flights is really good news and will certainly help boost tourism from the United States in 2024 and beyond. As an island destination, we know there’s a proven direct correlation between access and growth in visitor numbers.
“The warmest of welcomes to the Notre Dame and Navy teams and to the thousands of fans who have travelled here for this weekend’s opening fixture of the 2023 College Football season. The match is expected to deliver a significant economic benefit. And we know from previous College Football events in Dublin that the American fans typically stay around seven nights on average and visit lots of places right around the island of Ireland. The game will also be broadcast on NBC and will be seen by at least 3.75 million people across the United States – providing a fantastic opportunity to highlight Ireland as a wonderful holiday destination, as well as a top location for sporting events.
“The United States remains an extremely important market for tourism to the island of Ireland. In 2019, we welcomed 1.7 million American visitors, whose visits delivered €1.6 billion for the economy.”
Based on the latest available information for 2024, next summer there will be 215,000 one-way seats on 17 direct flights to Dublin Airport from the following US gateways: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Hartford, Los Angeles, Minneapolis–Saint-Paul, New York (JFK and Newark), Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC; and 22,000 one-way seats on four direct flights to Shannon Airport from Boston, Chicago, JFK and Newark.
