Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
419. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the degree to which she continues to pursue the marketing of the island of Ireland as a tourist location worldwide; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35545/23]
View answerIn Budget 2023 I secured additional funding of €15 million for overseas marketing of Ireland after the once-off pump-priming investment of €35 million in 2022.
The additional funding of €15 million that was secured for this year, in conjunction with the additional €35 million last year, means that a total of €50 million in additional funding will be allocated to the Tourism Marketing Fund in 2022 and 2023.
The additional funding secured this year for overseas marketing is allowing Tourism Ireland to focus on delivering long-term sustainable demand through its new global campaign – Fill your heart with Ireland. This strategic promotional campaign will raise the awareness of Ireland's tourism offering overseas and create a desire to travel from our top markets. The campaign is about celebrating the different ways in which the island of Ireland fills the hearts of our visitors and of locals and inviting potential overseas holidaymakers to come and experience those for themselves. The new campaign went live around St. Patrick’s Day in key overseas tourism markets.
Tourism Ireland is also capitalising on a number of special opportunities which are set to take place this year, including the Notre Dame versus Navy American football game in August and many other sports tourism opportunities like the Irish Open, the 50th anniversary of Kerrygold in Germany and a collaboration with Riverdance in the United States, Canada, Germany and the Middle East.
Screen tourism opportunities will continue to be leveraged by Tourism Ireland throughout the year, including opportunities around popular movies and TV shows filmed in Ireland. Seeing Ireland’s beautiful landscapes on screen helps Tourism Ireland to market the country and they often create a ‘behind-the-scenes’ film describing and praising the filming locations.
As global competition for tourism intensifies post-Covd, sustaining extensive marketing campaigns will be vital to support the on-going recovery effort, building on the initial inbound tourism demand seen in 2022, and keeping Ireland front of mind in the international consciousness.
