This May will bring the introduction of the new Aer Lingus Cork – Düsseldorf service, which will operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Germany is the third largest market for visitors to Ireland and Düsseldorf is also a significant international business and financial centre. There has already been strong interest from both inbound and outbound passengers. Key tourism stakeholders in Cork and Germany have been working closely to promote the new route and the tourism product that each has to offer.
Düsseldorf is located in the centre of the Rhine-Ruhr region, Germany’s largest metropolitan area, and has a population of about 11 million people. It is a city famous for its nightlife, shopping and fashion, as well as carnivals. The city hosts on of the world’s biggest trade fairs for boats and water sports. Also, the city welcomes over four million people for the Kirmes fun fair, which is held over nine days during the summer, perfect for all the family.
Expanding connectivity into Germany has been a key target for Cork Airport and the addition of Düsseldorf is great news for the region. Düsseldorf will be the second German destination from Cork Airport for Aer Lingus, as the airline also serves Munich on a year-round basis.
Last year, more than 560,000 Germans visited Ireland and increasing visitor numbers from Germany is a key target for the Irish tourist industry. Germany is the world’s largest outbound tourism market. German visitors to Ireland typically stay an average of almost 10 nights here and almost 10% stay for 15 nights or more.
