Tourism Ireland has launched an £11 million (€12m) campaign to highlight the “good value” sterling weakness is creating for non-UK visitors to the North.
The tourism authority is particularly eyeing “opportunities” that might emerge in the autumn. The new campaign will primarily target mainland Europe, Australia, North America and other emerging tourism markets.
Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said the campaign hoped to capitalise on “late booking trends around the world”.
“Many people are opting for shorter holiday breaks, and autumn is a really good opportunity, with many world-class festivals and events happening here. One of our key objectives is to drive more business to our more rural areas, right throughout the off-peak and shoulder season months.”
Tourism Ireland says the September to December period can deliver as much as 30 per cent of the North’s annual overseas tourism business.
Visitors numbers from the Republic to the North grew by 23 per cent last year to a record 591,000 trips. This involved a £108 million visitor spend.
Mr Gibbons said Brexit was an “ongoing challenge”. It was “continuing to monitor the situation closely with our industry colleagues”.
