Tourism Ireland begins €12.5m campaign

Tourism Ireland has unveiled a €12.5 million campaign in a bid to boost visitor numbers this autumn.

The campaign will be targeted at Britain, the United States and Europe, and it will focus on promoting rural parts of the country, city breaks and attracting motoring visitors.

The promotion will also concentrate on offering packages around themes such as gourmet food, music, castles, literature and the arts.

The new tourism push is trying to capitalise on exposure created by sports events such as Ryder Cup held in Ireland last year, the rugby world cup and the World Rally Championship in November.

According to the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Séamus Brennan, this has been a good year so far for the tourism industry.

"Overseas visitor numbers are up for the first seven months of the year, and overall indicators are generally positive in the industry," he said. "However, we must avoid complacency at all costs and keep reminding ourselves that we are striving to attract business in what is now a fiercely competitive global industry.

Tourism Ireland is also running its first marketing campaign in China. The World Tourism Organisation estimates China will have the greatest outbound tourism market in the world by 2020.