“Limerick is a superb tourism destination with many strengths including easy access by road and air. With Ryanair establishing Shannon International Airport as one of its major international hubs, there are now 26 direct routes from the UK and Europe into the Shannon Region from this airline alone. This combined with direct routes from Aer Aran and Aer Lingus, and many transatlantic services we have, gives us a marvellous marketing platform from which to attract additional international visitors.
As the Regional Tourism Authority for the Shannon Region, Shannon Development is constantly looking for new opportunities to get the tourism message out there. We work on our own initiatives, but also with a range of partners including the Limerick Trade Association, Limerick City Council, University of Limerick, and Meet Limerick Shannon, to increase the profile of Limerick as a tourist destination.
As the regional gateway Limerick is well positioned to benefit from the growth in air services. Tourism is a hugely competitive market and the city must continually reinvent itself in terms of what it can offer visitors, in fact we always need to be at least one step ahead of the competition.
Shannon Development was delighted to be involved in recently launched €100,000 marketing campaign to promote the city and county as a top leisure destination. Shannon Development and Limerick Tourism Trade Partnership put together a marketing plan and a proposal to Failte Ireland which resulted in substantial funding for the campaign. This will ensure that there will be a major promotional tool for Limerick in the marketplace. The marketing campaign includes a radio advertising campaign and an E-brochure marketing initiative that will tell visitors about the wonderful quality activity breaks that can be taken in Limerick city and county. The radio campaign will run until December 2006.
Limerick is ideal for a short city break or a longer holiday. Very few cities can offer what Limerick has – all of the amenities, activities and attractions of a modern city with the countryside right on its doorstep within a few minutes drive.
Limerick is the cultural capital of the Mid West region. It is a vibrant city for culture and entertainment; home to the Irish Chamber Orchestra, Irish World Music Centre, the Island Theatre Group, DAGDA Dance Company, and other professional artistic groups with numerous festivals, galleries, theatres, museums and libraries. These include the historic Belltable Arts Centre, state of the art University Concert Hall and the Millennium Theatre in L.I.T.(Limerick Institute Of Technology). Limerick's castles, ancient walls and museums are testament to its dramatic past.
The city has a growing reputation as a trendy, cosmopolitan city, and by night visitors are enjoying traditional pubs, a myriad of nightclubs in a city where social interaction is at the heart of its nightlife. The city received a significant boost from the Lonely Plant Guide which was a welcome endorsement of Limerick’s attractions for tourists. It boasts an exceptional heritage precinct with attractions like the Treaty Stone and King John's Castle. It also houses the world-renowned Hunt Museum and hosts the EV+A festival, an exhibition of visual arts that has carved out an enviable international reputation down through the years. The Limerick College of Art and Design is renowned for producing top class graduates in the field of art and other creative fields. Limerick's social life is richly catered for with an abundance of award-winning restaurants.
Improved road systems in and around the city has brought it within easy reach of some of Ireland’s finest golf courses, marine activities, nature trails and heritage sites. Not only do we have angling on the Shannon, golf, but also a variety of other open-air activities including the hugely successful Riverfest festival in May each year. We also have Olympic size swimming pool at the University of Limerick as well as a range of top class sporting facilities at the UL Arena.
As part of its ongoing promotion of the city, Shannon Development continually organises visits into the region for tourism influencers including top Ryanair staff based in markets across Europe, international tour operators, and overseas travel media from around the world. This included three top US radio stations from New York and Boston who came to Limerick earlier this year to broadcast live for three days from the city. As a result we were able to organise media opportunities for a range of Limerick tourism interests. This was an excellent opportunity to showcase the city and the region as a quality tourism destination.
Each promotional initiative we undertake involves working out a tailored itinerary to suit the needs and tastes of that particular tourism influencer. For instance one of the groups from Ryanair really enjoyed the atmosphere around Limerick city during a Rugby Heineken Cup which helped us to highlight Limerick’s reputation as a sports city.
We are already well into work on our 2007 tourism marketing programme and as part of this we will continue to target key influencers who can help us in selling our tourism message”, says John King, Tourism and Heritage Director, Shannon Development.
Nandi O’Sullivan
Public Relations Manager
Tel: +353 61 710259
Mobile: +353 86-2371510
Fax: 061 363180
E-mail: Click Here