(TAN): Ireland has recently won the title of a top literary and artistic destination for Chinese tourists at the Stars Awards hosted in China.
The Star Awards, organised by Chinese travel magazine, Travelling Scope, presented the award to Tourism Ireland at a ceremony held in Shanghai.
Tourism Ireland’s Manager Asia and Middle East, Aisling McDermott, said the award was an encouragement at a time when the marketing body was planning to begin its promotional drive for 2020.
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“We know that travellers nowadays have tremendous choice, which makes it more important than ever for us to ensure the island of Ireland stands out from other destinations – so this award is really good news, as we prepare to kick off another extensive promotional drive in 2020, in this important emerging tourism market,” she said.
Tourism Ireland aims to increase visitor numbers from China, the largest outbound travel market in the world, to 200,000 by 2025. To achieve its goal, it will launch double its marketing investment in China to EUR 1 million (USD 1.1 million approximately). It is also promoting Galway as it has been chosen as an European Capital of Culture for this year.
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“With our rich literary heritage, our message is that the island of Ireland offers world-class festivals and cultural experiences. We’re also highlighting the fact that, in 2020, Galway becomes European Capital of Culture – one of the largest cultural events in the world – with a packed programme of fantastic experiences and events,” McDermott added.
Nearly 11.2 million overseas tourists visited Ireland in 2019, generating revenue of around EUR 5.8 billion.
Tourism Ireland plans to increase visitor numbers to 12 million by 2022, and overseas tourism revenue to EUR 6.54 billion, under its three-year marketing strategy for 2020-22.
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