Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Ireland’s Prime Minister, must have felt right at home when he joined the Tourism Ireland team in Toronto to support their promotional efforts in Canada, meeting with travel trade, media and tour operator partners on a cold, rainy and blustery day.

“Somebody said to me, 'Did you see much of Toronto?'” he said, drawing a laugh from the room, given that the visibility from the 54th floor of the TD Centre was probably 20 feet. But that didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for Irish tourism.

“Think of all the places you've been around the world, and think of all the places you can remember, or can't remember, as the case may be.” Taoiseach Kenny said as he addressed the group. “The ones that you can remember obviously made an impression on you. And it's not just about mountains…it's about the engagement of the people…I'm delighted that WestJet and Air Canada and Aer Lingus...and Air Transat, are flying to Ireland and we want that to continue.”

The significant increase in air capacity between Canada and Ireland has had a positive impact on Ireland’s visitor numbers over the past four years, with a combination of both year round and seasonal service resulting in a 16 per cent increase in visitors for 2016 and an increase of approximately 40 per cent since 2014. And the summer months for 2017 will see approximately 8,000 seats per week from Canadian airports to the island of Ireland.

Prior to the luncheon, TravelPulse Canada had the opportunity to sit down 1-2-1 (or in this case, 1-2-2) with Tourism Ireland’s Alison Metcalfe, executive vice president, United States and Canada, and Siobhán McManamy, director of markets.

“From the global point of view, 2016 was a record year for Irish tourism.” said McManamy. “We welcomed 10.5 million visitors to the island of Ireland, and to [the Republic of] Ireland, there were 9.5 million, spending the equivalent of $6.65 billion CA, and so it was a record year.  The Canada story is equally good.”

“With the Canada story we welcomed 220,000 visitors last year in 2016…driven primarily by a big increase in direct air access which was always our impediment in terms of growing the business going forward.” said Metcalfe. “So Canada has moved into the top 10 space, it's now the 10th most important market for Irish tourism, so we're delighted about that.  And it's looking very good for this year...the early numbers are looking strong."

Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons, who could not attend the event, said via communiqué that “Tourism Ireland is undertaking an extensive programme of promotional activity once again throughout 2017. We continue to work closely with our tourism partners – at home and in Canada – to build on the growth of the past few years.”

“I think what we are doing here in Canada is we're investing more than we ever have done in terms of Marketing.” Metcalfe echoed. “We're also working very closely with our tourism industry partners, tour operators, and working with them on tactical campaigns, so really campaigns that are designed to drive sales…Everything we do here is designed specifically with the Canadian visitor in mind, it's not a pan-North American campaign we have a discreet strategy for Canada. On the trade side, we're working very closely with the retail consortia, the tour operators, with the carriers, we work in partnership with them. So there's a lot of things happening.”

Tourism Ireland has set its sights on continued growth for 2017 and is rolling out a targeted programme of promotions throughout the year. This year’s Global Greening initiative in March was a huge success, with iconic landmarks around the world, including Canada’s own Calgary Tower, the sails of Canada Place in Vancouver, Place Ville Marie in Montreal and a lifesize cast skeleton of a dinosaur in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, to name a few, going green for St Patrick’s Day.

The 2017 programme included the launch of an online spring advertising campaign targeting culturally curious travellers in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta, which will run through May on a wide range of travel and lifestyle sites. Other activity includes extensive e-marketing and social media activity, as well as trade and consumer promotions with Irish tourism partners to drive sales.

Interest in visiting Ireland remains high among Canadian travellers, who are seeking to discover the ‘real’ Ireland, and the rugged coastline and rich heritage sites are strong motivators for Canadian holidaymakers.

 “The Wild Atlantic Way is now tugging people from all over the world to see what this means, to stand on the Cliffs of Moher...” Kenny continued in his speech. “And the midlands, with its Shannon river and all of the abbeys that are there… and Ireland's ancient east, where the Normans came, first in 1169, and have left their mark on so many battlegrounds and castles and towers all over that part of Ireland. So it's an old country with a young population and a good story to tell.”

“We want to engage with our Canadian friends. Ireland's changed.” Kenny said. “50 years ago [we were] backward, introverted, exclusively Catholic...go there now, [there are] more nationalities, all creeds...there’s a spirit of excitement that's returned very strongly to our country and that's part of the experience that the people get... So from Newfoundland to Vancouver, there are loads of Canadian people who will decide, we want to go somewhere.  So choose east this time.”

PHOTO: Alison Metcalfe, executive vice president, US and Canada, Tourism Ireland, addresses a group of Toronto travel trade and travel media. (Photo by Brian Simpson/TravelPulse Canada)

PHOTO: Siobhán McManamy, director of markets, Tourism Ireland. (Photo by Brian Simpson/TravelPulse Canada)

PHOTO: PHOTO: Alison Metcalfe (Tourism Ireland) Taoiseach Kelly (Prime Minister) Stephanie Bishop (Globus) and Lindsay Pearlman (Ensemble). (Photo by Brian Simpson/TravelPulse Canada)

PHOTO: PHOTO: Mary Heron (Aer Lingus) Alison Metcalfe (Tourism Ireland) Taoiseach Enda Kenny (Irish Prime Minister) Tanya Johnson (Royal Irish Tours). (Photo by Brian Simpson/TravelPulse Canada)

Metcalfe wants agents to know that the team here at Tourism Ireland is available to help agents in selling Ireland. Agents wanting collateral or brochures, or wanting to find out more, can visit Ireland.com, call 1-800-S-H-A-M-R-O-C-K (1-800-742-6762) or visit their offices in downtown Toronto.

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