NORTHERN IRELAND A FAVOURITE WITH US TRAVEL WRITERS
Northern Ireland has featured strongly as a popular destination for travel writers from the US so far this year. This week, Tourism Ireland, in association with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, hosted a visit by the prestigious Society of American Travel Writers who spent time visiting the walled city of Londonderry, the Giant’s Causeway, the Mournes and Belfast.
According to Tourism Ireland, already this year over 70 articles and broadcasts in the US have featured Northern Ireland as a tourism destination. These have included travel features in the New York Times, LA Times, Boston Sunday Globe, Chicago Tribune, Condé Nast Traveler, Washington Times, Robb Report, Travel Leisure Golf Magazine, Discovery Travel and Golf Resorts International TV.
Joe Byrne, Head of North America with Tourism Ireland, said: “We are delighted at the level of positive travel coverage Northern Ireland has received in the US so far this year. We are particularly pleased to have a group from the Society of American Travel Writers – the pre-eminent professional organisation of travel communicators in the US, visiting Northern Ireland following their annual conference in Manchester. This visit proved to be the most popular post-conference familiarisation trip of all the European destinations offered – a true indicator of the level of interest in Northern Ireland now amongst the travel media fraternity and it certainly augurs well for 2008 and beyond.”
NITB Chief executive Alan Clarke added: “NITB was delighted to host the Society of American Travel Writers in Northern Ireland. The group was fascinated by our rich industrial heritage, famous World Heritage Site, fully preserved 17th century walled city of Derry and much more. North America is a hugely important market – over one million visitors visit the island of Ireland every year, and together with Tourism Ireland, we must encourage a lot more of them to Northern Ireland.”
In 2008, the Mid-West Travel Writers’ Association will feature Northern Ireland as part of their pre- and post-conference trips and in 2009, the Travel Classics Writers’ Conference will take place in Northern Ireland.
ENDS
Further information:
Clair Balmer/Elaine Moore, Tourism Ireland
Tel: 028 7035 9260/ 07766 527719
or
Sonya Cassidy, Weber Shandwick
Tel: 028 9076 1007/
Caption (l-r):
Pictured visiting the Walls of Derry are:
Ruth Moran, Tourism Ireland; Joan Scobey, Copley News Syndicate/ Travel Arts Syndicate; Mike Hiller, Dallas Morning Sun; and Karen Houlahan, Derry Visitor & Convention Bureau.