As the NYF countdown continues, promotional opportunities come to the fore for tourism industry
Almost 1,000 overseas travel agents and 1,200 international media were hosted in 2014
With the countdown firmly on for this year’s New Year’s Festival (NYF) event, Fáilte Ireland are pulling out all the stops to ensure that the promotional opportunities for Dublin and Ireland are maximised and the festival proves a useful calling card to drum up more business in 2015 and beyond.
In the coming days, over 20 key international media from across nine markets are flying into Dublin to cover the three day year’s end event. In addition, a group of top overseas travel operators will be meeting with the main festival organisers from leading festivals, including NYF, Tradfest, BramStoker and Bloomsday, to discuss 2015 and 2016 opportunities.
Speaking today, Minister for Tourism Paschal Donohoe said –
“The extension of the NYE festival, which will run over three days for the first time ever, brings with it the opportunity to ring out the old and ring in the new to a greater extent than ever before. It also presents a valuable opportunity to put Ireland centre stage and promote the brilliant things we have to see and do here in Ireland. The advent of so many additional markets and festive activities around the county this year is adding to the perception that we are a destination with something special to offer over the Christmas period. The growth of the NYE Festival adds significantly to that and plays a leading role in boosting tourism numbers across the period.
“We have had an exceptional year in terms of tourism and that is something we will be building on in 2015. The range of entertainment and events on offer from 30th December to 1st January is designed to satisfy all tastes. I have no doubt it will meet that objective. Media and travel operators from across the globe are flying in to see how Ireland does festivals. I am confident that they will leave early in the New Year impressed by our offering and with plans to encourage additional visitors to Ireland across 2015.”
The work to promote Ireland over the New Year’s break tops a very busy 2014 season selling Ireland. Over 980 International buyers come into Ireland this year and had sales meetings with tourism industry members from all around the country. In addition to this, more than 1,200 international media from 22 countries were brought to Ireland in 2014, resulting in significant international coverage of Ireland as a desirable destination.
Looking forward to this year’s festival and explaining the importance of hosting such high profile events, Orla Carroll from Fáilte Ireland said –
“This year’s New Year’s Festival promises to be the most impressive end of year celebration the city has ever seen. With a mix of music, culture and craic, Dublin is extending an invitation to the world to come and mark the arrival of the New Year in one of the friendliest cities in the world.
“The festivities also give us an opportunity to raise the profile of Ireland and Dublin as a destination and, along with the thousands of overseas visitors who will arrive, we have invited key media and overseas agents will be inviting to ring out the old, ring in the new and really experience what a vibrant and exciting place Dublin is.”
For the first time, the New Year’s Festival will run across the city over three days from 30th December 2014 through to 1st January 2015and is set to be the best New Year’s celebration that the city as ever seen. The NYF Dublin Festival is an initiative by Fáilte Ireland in partnership with Dublin City Council and produced by event organisers Holohan Leisure and MCD Productions.
For the full programme of events visit www.nyfdublin.com