Tourism Ireland aims to raise number of 'high-spending' Australian visitors by a fifth
Tourism Ireland is looking to the Australian market to bring in more than €600m over the next three years.
Its new strategy targeting Australia has been launched by the Transport and Tourism Minister Paschal Donohoe.
It aims to boost the number of visitors from Down Under by 20% to almost 220,000 by the end of 2017.
Tourism Ireland will be looking to cash-in on increased flights, recent strong performance in the market and a shared language and heritage with Australian people.
They said the aim is to position Ireland as the ideal starting point for a European trip, emphasising that it is easy to reach, with frequent, one-stop flights.
Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said Australian visitors are particularly lucrative.
He said: "We believe this is a market of considerable potential for Ireland over the coming years – given that these high-spending visitors travel right throughout the year and enjoy exploring the regions of Ireland.
"However, we can’t take this performance for granted; we need to adapt and respond to new opportunities to ensure that success continues.
"Building on the strong performance of recent years, and the increased number of one-stop flights via the Middle East, we have set challenging targets for the 2015-2017 period.
"I am confident that this new, focused strategy will deliver on the targets we have set for growth in Australian visitors, between now and 2017."
