In an exclusive interview with ITB Asia News, Tourism Ireland’s Emerging Markets Executive Tori Henry explains why Ireland is a fabulous destination to explore for Asian travellers.
Why does Ireland stand out for Asian travellers ?
Ireland has always been well received by our Asian friends. It is a fantastic place for road trips, hiking, discovering castles and eating seafood. On top of our cities, it is popular to explore the natural wonders and quaint villages that make up the countryside. There are excellent visa programmes in place. Travellers from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore can visit Ireland without a visa, while Chinese and Indian can apply for a single British Irish visa. Other countries can use a short-term visa. There are lots of convenient, one-stop connections departing from Asia via Great Britain, Mainland Europe and the Middle East.
What are Ireland’s main inbound destinations ?
The 2,600 km long, Wild Atlantic Way goes all along the Irish west coast, unfolding a stunning countryside in all its diversity. Dublin is packed with culture, creativity and fun. Just beyond the city, the UNESCO Biosphere of Dublin Bay lies with coastal walks, little villages, wide sea views and rugged mountain backdrops. Belfast, home of the infamous Titanic, is also bursting with creativity with its art galleries, super-cool pop-up restaurants and the bustle of St George’s Market.
How goes Ireland’s tourism strategy forward and how does ITB Asia contribute to it ?
Our strategy is to support the Irish Tourism industries recovering in a post Covid climate via our Green Button campaign. The campaign delivers a clear ‘book now’ message to holiday makers overseas. Sustainability is high on Tourism Ireland’s strategy. We seek to include sustainability as an important business objective in all our strategic plans, focusing on high revenue rather than high volume. Tourism Ireland also aims to stay in close contact with all global trade partners, building on strong relationships to generate business. An event such as ITB Asia is vital to the development of our tourism industry. Following the pandemic, we need to develop new relationships within the Asia tourism market and ITB Asia offers an excellent opportunity to do so.
