(TAN): Tourism Ireland plans to increase visitor numbers by 7% to 12 million by 2022.
The marketing body also aims to raise overseas tourism revenue by 13% to EUR 6.54 billion (USD 7.25 billion approximately), it said at the launch of its three-year marketing strategy for 2020-22.
Around 500 tourism industry leaders attended the event in Dublin. Tourism Minister, Brendan Griffin was also present at the launch.
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Griffin said although 2019 was a challenging year for the sector, the ministry expected a contribution of over EUR 5 billion from international tourists this year.
“Despite the challenges we have faced this year, we head into 2020 in a relatively strong position,” he added.
He also said that the target should be met in a sustainable way through “spreading our tourism business more evenly around the entire island and encouraging more visitors in the off-season”.
Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Ireland, Niall Gibbons, blamed the ambiguities around Brexit for vacationers booking later and cutting down on their holiday expenditures.
“In 2019 we’ve seen a continuing weak trend in Irish tourism – which has been reflected in the feedback from our industry partners, who’ve been experiencing weaker demand,” he added.
Gibbons said the three-year marketing strategy was founded upon “a set of sustainable destination marketing principles”.
“These principles will underpin all of Tourism Ireland’s activities and are reflected in our renewed emphasis on driving business to the regions and ensuring the benefits of tourism growth are distributed right around the island of Ireland, on a year-round basis. By applying these principles and through working with our partners on wider sustainability issues, we are confident that overseas tourism will help communities to prosper, while our overseas visitors continue to enjoy a great holiday experience,” he added.
Tourism Ireland shared estimates that by the year-end, overseas visitors will have generated around EUR 5.78 billion in terms of revenue, 1.14% less than the same period last year, while tourist number will remain unchanged at 11.17 million.
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On the other hand, Tourism Ireland said 2020 will pose a range of challenges including continued impact of Brexit uncertainty on consumer decision, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and limitations on aircraft availability.
