Fáilte Ireland Spring Campaign for the Wild Atlantic Way Kicks Off focussing on commuters and the Northern Irish market
Launched today (Monday 25 March), Fáilte Ireland’s latest marketing campaign for the Wild Atlantic Way will target Dublin commuters and tourists from Northern Ireland using outdoor, radio and TV ads.
As over half all journeys into Dublin are made on public transport, Fáilte Ireland is using high impact imagery from along the Wild Atlantic Way on digital screens at key commuter points in the city including Heuston and Connolly Stations, at Busáras and on Luas trams.
Slogans such as Skip the school run for endless fun; Swap work chores for sandy shores; Swap rush hour for ‘What’s the rush?’ hour; Replace the day to day with days to remember; Lose yourself, not the weekend are expected to grab the imagination of weary and stressed commuters!
Radio adverts scheduled for morning and evening rush hour and a TV advert (LINK) specifically targeting the Northern Irish market will make up a key element of the campaign. This forms part of Fáilte Ireland’s wider programme to help tourism businesses prepare for Brexit and retain visitors from Northern Ireland, especially for border counties, which have been most adversely affected by the devaluation of sterling.
Speaking today, Director of Marketing, Fáilte Ireland, Niall Tracey, emphasised:
“The domestic market provides a bed-rock for many tourism businesses and sustains activity in the sector throughout the year. Our home holiday marketing activity is especially geared to generate business in the ‘shoulder seasons’ each side of summer to allow tourism operators trade longer which is good for jobs and also important in terms of developing and maintaining a strong product on the ground for all tourists – whether domestic or international. We are also very much focussed on driving activity into those areas – beyond traditional hotspots – where we believe there is great potential, variety and capacity for additional visitors. Therefore, in this Wild Atlantic Way campaign, we are highlighting the great benefits to be found in places such as, Streedagh, Co. Sligo, Sliabh Liag, Co. Donegal, and Derrigimlagh, Co. Galway, as well as more traditional destinations in the region.”
Fáilte Ireland will build on the success of the Wild Atlantic Way this year, enhancing the visitor experience along the length of the route to develop tourism in the region. This year’s focus will be on driving visitors to less well-known areas and attractions and increasing dwell time and revenue particularly in off-peak times.
Miriam Kennedy, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of the Wild Atlantic Way, said:
“Now in its fifth year, the Wild Atlantic Way has captured the imagination of visitors both at home and abroad. 2018 was a record year for the Wild Atlantic Way in tourist numbers and tourist spend with an estimated 3.8m overseas and 4.4m domestic trips to the region, with a combined spend of €3bn - the highest spend since the brand was launched. While many overseas visitors are discovering the joys of the Wild Atlantic Way, the route has also been incredibly popular with the domestic visitors. We are leveraging this domestic appeal to maintain business momentum beyond the high season with targeted advertising in spring and autumn and would encourage anybody who has not had the experience yet to get out there and discover the west.”
The current Wild Atlantic Way campaign is just one part of Fáilte Ireland’s work to market Ireland as a destination to the domestic market. This campaign follows a similar one promoting Ireland’s Ancient East with further campaigns set to follow promoting other parts of Ireland later this year.
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