News Release -
US Tourism Campaign Yields Dividends
Shannon Development on target to secure 10,000 extra US visitors in winter period
Shannon Development has today (Tuesday 2nd October ’07) announced that they are on target to secure and extra 10,000 US visitors, which translates into over 50,000 bed nights, for the Shannon Region in the vital ‘07/’08 off season/winter period.
Earlier this year the Company began a focused €250,000 US tourism marketing campaign in light of the likely fallout for Shannon Airport and the Shannon Region from the ‘Open Skies’ agreement between the US and Europe.
The Company has been undertaking a special programme of promotional work including visits to key airlines flying Ireland/Shannon among them Delta Airlines, Continental Airlines, Aer Lingus US, US Airways and American Airlines. The Company also targeted airline vacation companies and leading tour operators promoting Ireland as a destination for American holidaymakers among them Sceptre Tours, CIE Tours and Celtic Tours. The move was taken in support of Tourism Ireland’s destination marketing efforts in the US.
“The purpose of these meetings was to forge links with these primary influencers of business into Ireland and explore the possibilities of undertaking joint promotional initiatives that would fill seats into Shannon and encourage Americans to holiday in the Shannon Region, especially during the off-season/winter period,” said John King, Heritage and Tourism Director, Shannon Development.
“In just one of a number of initiatives we have been working on we teamed up with Sceptre Tours, a major tour operator who sell Irish holidays throughout the United States, to do a series of e-blasts to their 10 million database offering competitively priced holiday packages to the Shannon Region,” said Mr. King.
“We are delighted with the response which has already secured an extra 4,200 American holidaymakers booked to come to the Shannon Region between 1st November this year and the end of March ’08. We are launching another US e-blast with Sceptre this week and are confident that we will reach our target of securing a total of 10,000 US holidaymakers for the Shannon Region by the end of the year,” said Pat Daly, Tourism Marketing Manager, Shannon Development.
“This business is vital to sustain transatlantic flights into Shannon from New York, JFK, operated by Aer Lingus and Delta, and will be a valuable injection of business for our tourism sector during this otherwise lean period. These bookings will bring valuable business into hotels, self-catering houses and B&B’s and will have spin-off benefits to the local economies of these areas,” says Mr. Daly.
Separate to this Shannon Development is also in negotiations with CIE Tours and Celtic Tours, and some smaller specialist travel operators, notably golf, which they plan to build on for next years tourist season.
Photo Caption
Pictured during a recent Shannon Development meeting with Continental Airlines at their worldwide headquarters in Houston, Texas are (l-r); Vic Kerckhoff, National Leisure Sales Director, Continental Airlines, GW (Buddy) Anslinger, Managing Director Scheduling and Planning, Continental Airlines, Noelle Smith, National Leisure Sales Manager, Continental Airlines, Terry Williams, M.D. Market Development Sales, Continental Airlines, and Pat Daly Tourism Marketing Manager, Shannon Development.
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