New Campaign Launches To Boost Tourism In NI

A £5 million, multi-media promotional campaign, to boost travel to Northern Ireland from Great Britain (GB) over the coming months has been launched.

The campaign by Tourism Ireland, which is running under the banner 'Northern Ireland – Embrace a Giant Spirit', will be seen by millions and will reach at least 80% of all adults in GB. It will generate demand now and drive bookings for short breaks and holidays in Northern Ireland.

The extensive campaign will include advertising on major TV channels and on catch-up TV sites; digital outdoor advertising at more than 500 locations across GB; ads on popular digital and social channels; a partnership with The Guardian; as well as a busy programme of publicity. Co-operative promotions with air and sea carriers, as well as online travel agents, are also under way.

Economy Minister Gordon Lyons MLA, said: "Tourism is an enormously important industry for Northern Ireland and a key driver of our economy. In fact, before the pandemic hit us all, 2019 was the best year ever for overseas tourism to Northern Ireland, when we welcomed over 2.2 million overseas visitors, a significant number of which came from the GB market.

"We have a terrific product for visitors on offer across Northern Ireland, including the beautiful Causeway Coastal Route, the historic city of Londonderry, the fantastic lakelands of Fermanagh, and, of course, our capital city, Belfast, with our maritime history highlighted at Titanic Belfast, a truly world-class visitor attraction.

"The GB market is a vitally important one for our tourism industry and I am confident that this campaign will show the best of what Northern Ireland has to offer. With the TV ads alone set to be viewed by almost 13 million people across GB, I believe this campaign will help convince tourists to visit Northern Ireland. Our tour operators, visitor attractions and accommodation providers have worked hard to introduce new safety measures and precautions to help ensure visitors and staff are kept safe."

Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: "We are delighted to unveil our new £5 million campaign to promote Northern Ireland in GB – which will highlight our great cities, spectacular scenery and the many things to see and do here. As we begin to rebuild our tourism business from the all-important GB market, our aim is to remind prospective visitors that Northern Ireland is the perfect destination for a short break or holiday. Tourism Ireland will be pulling out all the stops to drive as much business as possible to Northern Ireland over the coming months."