Wales lures Irish tourists

honesttravelguy.com

TOURIST chiefs in Wales are launching a major drive for visitors from their nearest neighbours across the water - Ireland.

+Visit Wales  is targeting a 10 per cent rise in tourists from the Emerald Isle in the next five years.

Ireland is Wales’ largest and most important international market for tourism. In 2011, a total of 148,000 visits to Wales from Ireland were recorded, with a total expenditure value of £33million. 

Wales is very accessible from Ireland - in addition to ferry links; +Aer Lingus  flies daily to Cardiff from Dublin and Flybe operates daily flights from Belfast to Cardiff.  Daily flights from Ireland to Manchester and Birmingham also mean that North Wales is within easy reach by air.

The Welsh Government wants to see more people from Ireland opting for Wales as their holiday destination where they can visit breathtaking scenery like Snowdonia, pictured above.

First Minister Carwyn Jones  said, “Wales has so much to offer our Irish neighbours. From our ancient history, much of it shared with Ireland, through to our food, literature and our great outdoors, Wales is a nation waiting to be discovered by Irish visitors who will find a warm, Welsh welcome.

 As well as promoting Wales’ beautiful landscapes and coastline, the campaign will showcase the many spectacular events taking place in 2013. In Cardiff, the National St David’s Day Parade takes place in March; May sees the first anniversary of the opening of the 870-mile Coast Path.

The +The Hay Festival  of Literature kicks off on 23^rd May, while the Cardiff Singer of the World Festival takes place in June, along with the Gregynog Festival, the oldest extant classical music festival in the world. 

Thousands will flock to Wakestock, Europe’s largest wakeboarding music festival in July, with the World Bog Snorkelling Championships taking place in August. Dylan Thomas will be remembered at the annual festival in October and November and rugby will remain a key tourism driver with Ireland playing Wales at the Millennium Stadium next week.

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