A new marketing drive, aimed at enticing our four key markets (Germany, France, Italy and England) to the West and North West of Ireland was recently announced. This significant international tourism marketing campaign (Western Region Tourism Marketing Programme) has been established in collaboration with The Western Development Commission (WDC), regional Local Authorities and Tourism Ireland.

Capitalising on the recently announced air routes into Ireland West Airport Knock (IWAK), the Western Regional Tourism Marketing Programme is expected to provide a considerable boost to tourism businesses by bringing international visitors directly into the area.

The campaign aims to highlight outdoor and adventure activities in the West and North West region as well as showcasing the region’s wealth of heritage and culture and a number of promotional activities will be rolled out as part of it, including:

  Radio, print and online advertising
  Direct mail promotions
  Radio competitions

Martina Bromley, Head of Operations for Fáilte Ireland in the North West emphasised –

“This is great news for tourism in the northwest and the region will surely benefit from such joined-up thinking. New direct access routes and this campaign will help the west fight for a bigger slice of the overseas pie and bring much needed visitors, revenue and jobs into the area.”

Speaking as the initiative was announced, Minister Ring said that the programme is a “new initiative in response to the government’s commitment towards increasing the number of tourists coming to Ireland and improving their experience of Ireland and its regions during their stay”.

He commended the participating Local Authorities, the WDC, and IWAK for their innovative approach in setting up the Marketing Programme, which he said will bring a welcome boost to tourism in the West and North West regions.

He also indicated that he expected to make a further announcement on funding support for the project in early April, following a meeting of the Fáilte Ireland authority.

“This programme is about maximising new and innovative service delivery channels, driving better value for money and leading, organising and working in new ways - all part of the government’s reform agenda and all part of creating employment in these challenging times” he said.