The new routes are from Frankfurt (Hahn), Paris (Beauvais), Milan (Bergamo) and Barcelona (Girona).  Working closely with airlines to build demand for routes is a key priority for Tourism Ireland and these new flights will provide a welcome boost for tourism from France, Germany, Italy and Spain to Mayo and the west of Ireland.

Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “The introduction of these new Ryanair flights is fantastic news; they will certainly expand travel options for German, French, Italian and Spanish holidaymakers who wish to visit Mayo and the west of Ireland.  We are already working closely with Ryanair and Ireland West Airport Knock to maximise the demand for these new routes and boost tourism to the area.  As an island destination, direct, convenient and competitive access services are critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.  Tourism Ireland is committed to working with air and sea carriers, airports and other tourism interests to drive demand for these four new flights, and all other services to Ireland, and to help maintain our vital network of routes and services.”

A €9 million tourism marketing blitz with carriers – including Ryanair, Aer Lingus, Aer Arann, Emirates, US Airways and ferry companies – is under way right now in major markets, supported by revenues from the air travel tax and involving matching funds from the carriers.

Niall Gibbons continued: “We have seen very welcome growth of over +12% in visitors from Mainland Europe to Ireland for the first nine months of 2011.  At the end of this month, we will outline our plans for 2012, when we will be pulling out all the stops to build on this growth and working to ensure that the west of Ireland, and the entire island, increases its share of the global travel business.”

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.