Tourism Ireland has launched a €12m, multi-media autumn campaign to boost late-season travel to Ireland from around the world.
The tourism body said that the period between September and December usually yields as much as 30% of the country's overseas tourism business.
They said that their main aim is to drive more overseas tourism business to the regions throughout the off-peak season.
To encourage off-peak travel to the regions, the campaign will highlight the festivals and events taking place over the coming months like the new Púca Festival, the Galway International Oyster Festival, Belfast International Arts Festival, Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival, Savour Kilkenny, Cork Jazz Festival, Wexford Festival Opera and New Year Festival (NYF) Dublin.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross, said: “Developing the industry in this manner will help to ensure that it continues to grow in a manner that is sustainable, from an environmental, economic and social perspective.
"I am pleased to see that the recently launched ‘Taste the Island’ initiative features strongly in this campaign, which, in addition to the variety of festivals and events being hosted throughout the island of Ireland, will attract more visitors from our main target markets.
"This campaign will also see our participation in the Rugby World Cup being leveraged to promote Ireland in Japan."
The Minister also emphasised the need to promote and expand Ireland as a tourism destination around the world in the face of challenges such as Brexit.
Tourism Ireland acknowledged that Brexit is still a major concern, with the fall in the value of sterling making holidays here more expensive for British visitors while making the UK more affordable for visitors from many other countries.
Therefore, an extensive programme of co-operative promotions with air and sea carriers, online travel agents, as well as traditional tour operators and travel agents, is part of their autumn campaign in Britain and other markets.
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Many people are opting for shorter holiday breaks and autumn is a really good opportunity, with many world-class festivals and events happening right around the island. One of our key objectives is to drive more business to our regions, right throughout the off-peak and shoulder season months.
“Brexit, and the drop in the value of sterling, remains an ongoing challenge, giving rise to consumer concern particularly in Britain and some Mainland European markets. We will continue to monitor the situation closely with our industry colleagues.
“Tourism Ireland will bring top overseas travel agents and tour operators to the island of Ireland this autumn, to meet with hundreds of tourism businesses here and negotiate inclusion in their 2020 brochures and programmes.”
Tourism Ireland’s autumn campaign is being rolled out in North America, Mainland Europe, Britain, Australia and emerging tourism markets.
