TOMORROW'S American's football game in Croke Park represents a triumph for a Bord Failte strategy of promoting Ireland through international sporting events. The match, between Notre Dame university and the US Navy, will bring at least 15,000 high-spending tourists to Dublin and expose the country to a colossal television audience across the United States.
For six years, the tourist agency has, built up a portfolio of international sporting events, with special emphasis on golf and angling. Its next major target is the Tour de France cycle race; Bord Failte wants the 1998 contest to start in Ireland.
"It's publicity for Ireland as a destination, before, during and after these events," Mr Chris Kane, Bord Failte's director of corporate affairs said last night. "People watching get the message that this is a relaxed, peaceful country, with good facilities."
The strategy dovetails with the tourist industry's current concern - how to encourage visitors to Ireland outside of the April to September period. Analysts say that specialist tourists are more likely to come during the autumn and winter.
The big events of the year include three big golf tournaments - the Smurfit European Open at the K Club, the Murphy's Irish Open at Druid's Glen and the Guardian Ladies Open at CityWest Golf and Country Club. In each of these, Bord Failte arranged with the international television networks broadcasting the events to publicise Ireland during lulls in play.
"We produce these 20-second vignettes," said Mr Kane. "They're not advertisements as such. But they position Ireland as the premier location for the activity."
The tourist body may spend weeks negotiating this publicity before it agrees to sponsor or support an event.
The European Open was covered live on Sky Sports and on the Golf Channel in the US; the Irish Open generated some 85 hours of coverage around the world; and the Ladies Open was covered on NBC's Sports Channel. All ran the vignettes continuously. During the Curtis Cup, in Killarney in June, Bord Failte managed to place signs on the course it sell, promoting golfing holidays in Ireland.
Tomorrow's American football game, which is supported but not sponsored by the tourist board, will not include direct publicity by Bord Failte. It will, however, be broadcast live to millions of US viewers, coast-to-coast on the CBS network. Visitors to Dublin for the game are likely to spend around £14 million.
But the event, and all others to date, pale into insignificance compared to the Tour de France. Although the State would have to give some £2 million in grants to bring the start of the Tour to Ireland, the event is covered in more than 100 countries, with an estimated television audience of 960 million.
