Pictured above: (l to r) Sofia Hansson, Manager of Australia/New Zealand, Tourism Ireland; Maria Sykes, VisitBritain’s Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand; Alison Metcalfe, Head of North America and Australia/New Zealand, Tourism Ireland
They definitely didn’t bring the Irish weather with them but the 2024 Secrets of Ireland roadshow has received a sweltering welcome in Sydney.
With the temperature outside nudging 38 degrees, the 11 visiting tourism operators were more than happy to meet with industry partners and trade media at a lunch besides Sydney Harbour.
“Our goal is to increase the value of tourism by inspiring more visitors to put Ireland on their vacation list, but also to strengthen our partnerships,” said Alison Metcalfe, Head of North America and Australia/New Zealand, Tourism Ireland.
“We really do value the retail trade and the travel trade in general in markets like Australia.
“We realise it’s a big consideration when people travel – they’re spending a lot of money and they want to make sure they have the very best experience. So it’s all about building business together.”
Figures released by Tourism Ireland include:
# In 2023, 5.4 million Australians travelled to Europe, accounting for 34% of all outbound travel from Australia.
# In 2023, Australian travellers spent €210m (approx. $AU339m) making it the 7th most important source market for Ireland by revenue and made 142,000 trips.
# These visitors stayed on average 14.9 nights, making them the longest staying visitors of all overseas markets totalling 2.1M bed nights.
# From Jan-Sept 2024, 105,000 trips have been made by visitors from Australia and New Zealand and saw an increase of +1% YOY.
# Australia is the third most important overseas market for Northern Ireland for tourism revenue.
Ms Metcalfe added that recent research had revealed that exploration was a key motivating factor for many travellers and in particular for Australians.
“They do want to explore the beautiful landscapes, rich heritage and scenery but they also want to get under the skin of a destination and I think that’s where Ireland really offers a great fit, whether they’re interested in food or music or culture.
“Our goal is to get people to see more, want to do more and want to spend more while having a really great time.”
The tourism board’s aims for 2025 are to get more visitors travelling into the regions of Ireland, to increase visitation and spend in Northern Ireland and to extend the tourist season to include off-peak months as well as the most popular times.
“In terms of Tourism Ireland and our activities here, we’ve been very consistent in our investment in this market and in our presence here,” said Sofia Hansson, Manager of Australia/New Zealand, Tourism Ireland.
“We continue to roll out campaigns as we have been doing. So, we are committed and Australia is a very important market for us, particularly in terms of the spend and revenue that we see on the island of Ireland.
“The theme for this year is very much about going beyond just the amazing, iconic highlights of Ireland that we love. We also want to highlight the hidden gems, the off the beaten track experiences that we have and also showcasing our luxury and sustainable products as well.”
