‘Senses of Ireland’ events inspire Canadian travel professionals through a sensory journey of the island of Ireland!

Tourism Ireland’s ‘Senses of Ireland’ events took place in Canada, in the cities of Kitchener-Waterloo, Pickering, Ottawa and Halifax. ‘Senses of Ireland’ is designed to bring travel professionals and journalists in each of the Canadian cities on a unique sensory journey through the beautiful landscapes and rich culture of the island of Ireland.

Seven tourism partners from the island of Ireland travelled to Canada to join Tourism Ireland for ‘Senses of Ireland’, where they met and did business with over 220 Canadian travel advisors, tour operators and journalists. The events were specially timed to coincide with Irish Heritage Month, which is taking place in Canada throughout March.

The Canadian guests who attended were invited to explore various ‘sense stations’, designed to stimulate their senses. They had the opportunity to: 

• Touch: immerse themselves in our traditions by interacting with the people and the products synonymous with the island of Ireland. 
• Taste: savour some flavours of our food and drink, with a Bushmills ‘Whiskey On The Rocks’ experience and fresh apple tarts from the Orchard County presented by Visit Armagh.
• See: travel back in time and experience some Irish heritage with a visual representation of surnames presented by the Irish Family History Centre.
• Hear: enjoy a performance by Angela Newman of Hysterical Histories Cork and storytelling from Dermot Friel of Friels Historic Bar & Restaurant. 
• Smell: breathe in the scents of an interactive cocktail experience, based on the Sensorium experience run by Taste and Tour NI.  

Sandra Moffatt, Tourism Ireland’s Manager Canada, said: “Our ‘Senses of Ireland’ events allow us to bring key travel professionals and journalists on a unique sensory journey through the beautiful landscapes and rich culture of Ireland. Together with our tourism partners, our aim was to highlight some of our superb tourism offerings in a unique and immersive way, to inspire the tour operators and travel agents and help secure a greater share of their business for the island of Ireland in 2024 and beyond.”

Luke O'Mahony, Brendan Vacations; Dermot Friel, Friels Historic Bar & Restaurant; Angela Newman, Hysterical Histories Cork; Sandra Moffatt, Tourism Ireland; Ken Nickerson and Austin Fraser, both Brendan Vacations; John Fallon, Royal Irish Tours; Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland; Ghilian Campbell, Visit Armagh; Lauren Lamonday, Tourism Ireland; Phil Ervine, Taste and Tour NI; and Fiona O’Mahony, Irish Family History Centre, at Tourism Ireland’s ‘Senses of Ireland’ event in Ottawa, Canada.