The two main tourism bodies have given details of their marketing plans for next year to the industry.
Tourism Ireland plans a new €50m, three-year global advertising campaign which it hopes will reach 200 million people.
Chief executive Paul O'Toole said Ireland continued to enjoy a positive image, but its research had shown that consumers wanted more information about what a holiday in Ireland might involve. He added that the organisation's priority was to improve the regional distribution of tourism.
Preliminary estimates indicate that over eight million visitors will have come to the island of Ireland by the end of 2005, an increase of 394,000. There was strong growth from Europe, while there was a recovery in the British market, but North America showed a flat performance after a strong in 2004. Tourism Ireland said North America and long-haul markets would be the subject of a 'root and branch review' in 2006.
Failte Ireland chief executive Shaun Quinn said the organisation would be bringing forward a new tourism product development strategy to guide public and private investment in the industry. The body also plans to treble its golf marketing effort overseas to make the most of the opportunity for Irish tourism provided by the Ryder Cup.
