Tourism Ireland event showcases Kerry to key German travel trade and media
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD, is leading a delegation from Kerry to Berlin. The aim of the visit is to highlight Kerry in the all-important German market, and in particular the new, twice-weekly Ryanair flight from Berlin to Kerry.
Today (Friday, 3 November), Minister Griffin was briefed on the German market by Tourism Ireland. And, Tourism Ireland hosted a networking lunch event for Minister Griffin and the delegation from Kerry, which was attended by key German travel trade and media representatives.
Germany is the third-largest market for tourism to the island of Ireland and is worth about €400 million annually to our economy. Last year was another record year for Irish tourism from Germany – when we welcomed over 650,000 German visitors, an increase of +3% on 2015.
Zoë Redmond, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for Central Europe, said:
“The new twice-weekly flight from Berlin to Kerry is really good news for tourism from Germany to Kerry and the South West. We are delighted to co-operate with Ryanair and our partners from Kerry, including Kerry Airport, to maximise the promotion of this new service. As an island destination, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated – they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.
“Germany is our third-largest source of visitors, with the latest CSO figures showing growth of almost +3% for January to September. Right now, we are planning a busy programme of promotions for 2018, to continue to build on this year’s growth.”
Cllr Jim Finucane, Kerry County Council; Evelin Horvath, Ryanair; Cllr John Sheahan, Mayor of Kerry; HE Michael Collins, Irish Ambassador to Germany; Tourism Minister Brendan Griffin; Finola O’Mahony, Tourism Ireland; and Angela McAllen, Kerry County Council, in Berlin.
Notes To Editors
- Tourism Ireland is the organisation responsible for promoting the island of Ireland overseas as a leading holiday destination.
- Tourism is the island of Ireland’s largest indigenous industry; responsible for in excess of 4% of GNP in the Republic of Ireland and employing approximately 281,000 people across the island.
- In 2016, we welcomed approximately 10.3 million overseas visitors to the island of Ireland, delivering revenue of about €5.3 billion.
- Tourism Ireland’s international website is www.ireland.com, 29 market sites available in 11 language versions around the world, which attracted 19.37 million visitors in 2016