Tourism Minister Catherine Martin is in London today to launch a campaign to attract British visitors back to Ireland.
This marks the first major in-person series of events undertaken by Tourism Ireland to promote Ireland since the outbreak of Covid-19.
Almost 4.8 million British visitors visited the island of Ireland in 2019, generating around €1.45 billion in revenue and Britain accounted for almost one-third of all overseas holidaymakers here that year.
The country is Ireland's most important tourism market, in terms of visitor numbers and bednights.
It is also our biggest source of holiday visitors, accounting for almost one third of all overseas holidaymakers in 2019.
The contribution of the British market to the regional tourism economy and to season extension objectives are significant, with around 41% of British visitors arriving between October and March.
The average length of stay of a British visitor is 4.7 nights.
The Minister, along with Tourism Ireland and Department officials, hosted a working lunch today with key global inbound tour operators, who are based in Britain.
These tour operators are responsible for bringing business to Ireland from all over the world, including the US, Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa.
The meeting included several global tour operators, the European Tourism Association and accommodation providers.
Meanwhile, Tourism Ireland is planning to roll out its new "Green Button" campaign in Britain from 1 October.
The €4.6m multi-media promotional campaign will run until December and will be seen by millions of people across Britain.
The campaign's objective is to generate awareness of the island of Ireland and to drive bookings for short breaks and holidays in Ireland between now and the end of the year.
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin said she was delighted to have the opportunity to visit London and to meet with many influential members of the tourism industry.
"Because of the pandemic, this is my first opportunity to work with the agency overseas and I am very pleased to contribute. That Great Britain is my first stop is testament to the commitment we have to such an important market," Ms Martin said.
The Minister said that while the tourism industry saw a very good domestic summer season, she was aware that challenges remain for the sector.
The greatest of these challenges remains the low level of international tourists compared to pre-pandemic levels, she said.
"With this in mind I am delighted to announce that Tourism Ireland have activated the Green Button campaign and it will launch on October 1 in Great Britain. I am really excited about the new campaign and I want to wish the team at Tourism Ireland every success," she said.
"The key message is that we cannot wait to roll out the green carpet and welcome back visitors from our near neighbours in Great Britain," the Minister added.
Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said the agency's key priorities is to ensure success will include rebuilding consumer confidence, as well as air and sea connectivity, which is vital as an island destination.
"Tourism Ireland, together with our tourism industry partners from around the island of Ireland, will participate in a number of significant events in Great Britain, such as World Travel Market 2021, Flavours of Ireland 2021 and Ireland Meets GB," Mr Gibbons said.
"These upcoming events will allow our partners to highlight and sell their product to key contacts in Great Britain - encouraging them to feature Ireland in their 2022 holiday and tour programmes," he added.
