Tourism Minister Arlene Foster MLA met with the board members of Tourism Ireland in Belfast last week, ahead of the organisation’s October board meeting.  Tourism Ireland’s remit is to promote Northern Ireland across the world, this year focusing primarily on the four main tourism markets of Great Britain, North America, France and Germany.

Minister Foster took the opportunity to discuss Tourism Ireland’s plans for the promotion of NI2012, which will place Northern Ireland firmly in the global spotlight over the coming year, showcasing a ‘new’ and vibrant Northern Ireland around the world.

Arlene Foster said: “We cannot underestimate the importance of the European and American markets to Northern Ireland tourism.  Next year, Northern Ireland will be playing host to a range of unmissable opportunities including the outstanding Titanic Project.  We must capitalise on all the events on offer, particularly if we want to meet our challenging tourism targets.”

Speaking after the meeting, Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said:“We were delighted to have this opportunity to meet with our Minister here in Belfast, to discuss the exciting year ahead and the extensive promotional programme which Tourism Ireland will be rolling out across the globe.  With the completion of iconic, new tourist attractions like Titanic Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Centre as well as a host of fantastic events in the pipeline, NI2012 will provide a tremendous opportunity to position Northern Ireland as a ‘must see’ cultural tourism destination.”

Over the next 12 months Tourism Ireland will invest millions of pounds in the most extensive programme of marketing activity ever undertaken for Northern Ireland – to include TV, press, radio and cinema advertising, as well as extensive online campaigns and social media activity, promotional events and publicity.

City.Mobi

Also in Ireland today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Cork.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Cork.city.mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.