#Tourism - The Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East, Titanic Belfast and the Causeway Coast will be first and foremost in Tourism Ireland’s marketing plans for the coming months as Ireland celebrates a record-breaking year for tourism in 2016.
Coastal tourism was cited as integral to the more than 9.5 million visits to Ireland in the last year, signalling an upward curve that Tourism Minister Patrick O’Donovan said is “leading to more jobs and economic growth” at the publication of the latest CSO figures today (Friday 27 January).
The appeal of coastal beauty spots such as the Skelligs has risen in the past year due to their appearance one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters — making so-called ‘screen tourism’ a focus for Irish tourism chiefs.
“Screen tourism will remain a priority, as we continue to capitalise on our connections with Star Wars and Game of Thrones,” said Tourism Ireland chief executive Niall Gibbons. “Our aim is to grow overseas tourism revenue in 2017 by +4.5%, to €5.7 billion, for the island of Ireland.”