Targeting the Diaspora at Milwaukee Irish Fest 2016

THE 36th annual Milwaukee Irish Fest – the largest celebration of Irish culture and heritage in the United States – took place in Wisconsin over the weekend.

With a huge audience of about 150,000 visitors, the four-day festival was an ideal opportunity for Tourism Ireland to showcase the island of Ireland as a superb holiday destination.

A large delegation of tourism enterprises from Ireland also attended this year’s Milwaukee Irish Fest, including Mayo County Council, all of them highlighting the many things to see and do in Ireland for American holidaymakers.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s head of North America, said: “Tourism Ireland’s presence at this year’s Milwaukee Irish Fest provided another excellent platform to showcase the island of Ireland and the diversity of our heritage and culture, and was a good opportunity to invite some of the many people of Irish descent living and working in the US, as well as those with Irish connections or an affinity for Ireland, to come and visit.

“The United States is an extremely important market for tourism to the island of Ireland and 2016 looks set to be another record year, with the most recent CSO figures showing growth of +15% in visitors from North America for January to June, almost 100,000 extra visitors compared with the same six-month period in 2015.

“Tourism Ireland is determined to ensure that growth continues and we have an extensive programme of promotions under way in the US throughout 2016. Ireland now welcomes 10% of all American visitors to Europe – particularly noteworthy given the intense competition from other destinations.”