Felicity Long
After a challenging year of European tourism entities looking for ways to curb post-pandemic overtourism, Ireland is bucking the trend. Rather than building firewalls, like entry fees and tourist taxes, the destination is unequivocally rolling out the welcome mat with a proactive marketing plan for 2025 that focuses squarely on visitors from the U.S.
Tourism Ireland, which launched its "Fill your heart with Ireland" 2025 marketing plans in New York in February, is prioritizing the U.S. for a straightforward reason -- we are Ireland's second-largest source of overseas tourism revenue and we offer a strong return on investment. The focus is on attracting tourists who have "value-added tourism traits," that is, people who are likely to "see more, do more and therefore spend more when they visit," according to Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland's head of North America.
The campaign is aimed at "the island of Ireland," meaning both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
"Looking to the year ahead, we have an ambitious marketing program to support a healthy tourism industry through the regional and seasonal spread of visitors," Metcalfe said, citing the number of direct flights from 22 different U.S. gateways, including new services from Detroit, Indianapolis and Nashville.
Tourism Ireland is partnering with airlines -- including Aer Lingus, Delta, United, American and JetBlue -- to inspire demand for those services to Ireland, she said.
Media marketing efforts
Meanwhile, a multipronged media blitz will include ads in such outlets as PBS, NBC, National Geographic, Conde Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines, with a focus on stories showcasing the beauty of the destination's various regions.
The campaign is also running on TV in key gateway cities, on Connected TV (including Amazon and, Disney+), as well as in social and digital media.
Tourism Ireland will continue to co-produce broadcast shows like the Emmy-winning travel series "Bare Feet" with Mickela Mallozzi and Joseph Rosendo's "Steppin' Out," as well as "Canvasing the World" with Sean Diediker, all of which air on PBS.
With an eye toward encouraging all-season travel, the destination is also focusing on events such as St. Patrick's Day and Halloween as well as TradFest, an annual music and culture festival held in Dublin at the end of January.
Slow Tourism Month and golf
New for 2025 is "Slow Tourism Month" in June, designed to encourage visitors to fan out around the country, working with local tourism entities to draw overnight guests to areas that can be reached by rail, bus or with tour partners.
Of course, no discussion of tourism to Ireland would be complete without mentioning golf, both as a draw for sports-minded tourists, but also as a way to showcase the destination's beauty in golf media coverage of key events.
This year, for example, Northern Ireland will host The Open at Royal Portrush in July, and Adare Manor is already gearing up for the Ryder Cup in 2027.
Another push includes a "twinning" initiative with each of Ireland's key overseas markets, aimed at highlighting specific regions of Ireland. This year, the U.S. is twinning with Fermanagh, Tyrone, Mayo and Sligo.
Meanwhile, Tourism Ireland will work to connect U.S. travel trade and consumers with tourism entities across the island of Ireland via sales missions, co-operative campaigns and business events promotions like IMEX America.