Conor Murphy is visiting Chicago and Toronto, where he is meeting with leading tour operators and airline representatives, as well as key travel and lifestyle journalists.
At the roundtable business lunch in Chicago yesterday, Minister Murphy thanked the guests for their long-time support in promoting the island of Ireland.
Minister Murphy said: “The United States and Canada are extremely important markets for tourism, with strong affinity to our island’s values and ambitions. I believe that tourism from both countries has the potential to grow significantly in the years ahead. The north of Ireland has an award-winning tourism offering, a committed industry and there are excellent relationships in place with our US and Canadian travel partners to facilitate this growth.
“Tourism is one of our largest indigenous industries, supporting around 65,000 jobs across the north of Ireland, with most of those jobs located outside Belfast – so tourism is key to promoting a more regionally balanced economy.”
At his meetings, Minister Murphy highlighted some of the many great reasons for US and Canadian travellers to choose Northern Ireland for a vacation. In Chicago, he mentioned the historic walled city of Derry, home to Europe’s largest Halloween festival and a ‘must visit’ moment next month, given Halloween originated in Celtic culture 2,000 years ago on the island of Ireland.
He spoke about the beauty and diversity on offer from the UNESCO Geopark of Mourne Gullion Strangford in the East to Fermanagh in the West, as well as Belfast 2024, a year-long programme of culture and creativity.
Siobhan McManamy, Tourism Ireland’s Director of Markets & Partnerships, said: “At Tourism Ireland, our aim is to increase the value of overseas tourism to the island of Ireland, so we’re delighted to welcome Minister Murphy to Chicago and Toronto this week. Northern Ireland has so much to offer across regions and seasons, from iconic spots to hidden gems. Working in close collaboration with our Irish and American tourism partners, we are rolling out an ambitious marketing programme of high impact campaigns and promotions throughout 2024, targeting those consumers with greatest potential to travel to Northern Ireland. We’re delighted to work with our air, tour and travel partners to make it more accessible than ever to come and enjoy the island of Ireland.”
