Ireland Sets Reopening Date, Launches Multi-Million Dollar Tourism Promotional Campaign

Americans will once again be able to travel to Ireland on July 19 and Tourism Ireland has launched a multi-million dollar campaign to help people get there.

According to Reuters, the country has had the strongest restrictions during the pandemic, imposing fines on travelers and two-week quarantines on incoming travelers from more than fifty countries. This next step in reopening will allow anyone with an approved vaccination to travel freely throughout the EU, of which Ireland is a member.

Children between seven and eighteen who haven’t been vaccinated must test negative for COVID-19 in order to enter. Unvaccinated adults must also test negative and quarantine until they receive a second negative test result.

Northern Ireland will not yet be reopening to tourists, the government citing the large spread of the Indian variant as being the main reason.

Tourism Ireland has launched a $4.2 million promotional campaign today to build on the desire to travel to Ireland. Americans are one of the biggest drivers of the country’s tourism economy. Two million of its 11.3 million visitors in 2019 were North Americans, creating $2.3 billion in revenue.

The first phase of the campaign includes promotion on social media, including YouTube and will be promoted in nine countries. The first film, called ‘Let’s get back to Ireland,’ has already been released. Phase two begins in July with the reopening, hopefully spurring more bookings to the island nation.

“We are delighted to unveil our new campaign, ‘Let’s get back to Ireland’, which will help build anticipation for trips to Ireland this summer, among holidaymakers in our key overseas markets. We know from our research that there is significant pent-up demand among overseas visitors to return to Ireland as soon as possible,” said Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland. “However, we also know that there will be significant competition, as every destination across the globe has experienced the impact of COVID and will be seeking their share of the recovery. As international travel begins to restart, the priority for Tourism Ireland will be to keep the island of Ireland front and center in consumers’ minds. Our kick-start campaign will need to punch through the noise and create an immediate desire to visit.”

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