Ashford Castle joins Tourism Ireland’s sales blitz to Canada

TOURISM Ireland, together with a delegation of 23 tourism companies from Ireland and Canada - including Ashford Castle - undertook a four-city sales mission in Canada last week. The delegation met with more than 300 Canadian travel agents in the cities of London (south-west Ontario), Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

The sales mission involved a networking event in each city, where the participating tourism companies had the opportunity to meet, and do business with, Canadian travel professionals, informing them about the many things to see and do on a holiday in Ireland, including outdoor adventure and experiences, our ‘craic’ and warm welcome, our rich culture and heritage, as well as our luxury offering. The delegation also met with influential travel and lifestyle journalists and influencers at two media events, in Ottawa and Montreal.

Sandra Moffatt, Tourism Ireland’s manager, Canada, said: “Our sales blitz provided an excellent platform to spread the word about the many things to see and do, and all that is new and exciting, on a vacation to Ireland in 2023 and beyond.

“Travel agents and tour operators continue to be an important booking channel for Canadian holidaymakers, so a key element of our strategy is working closely with the travel trade, both online and offline.

“This sales mission was a fantastic opportunity for our tourism partners from Ireland to inform and influence these Canadian travel professionals about what Ireland has to offer and, importantly, to encourage them to include the destination in their future programmes and recommend it to their clients.”

In 2019, we welcomed 248,000 visitors from Canada to the island of Ireland, who spent €209 million during their time here.