The Yanks are coming

Local & National

Ulster braced for US invasion after glowing travel articles

Thursday, October 25, 2007

By Linda McKee

Northern Ireland is gearing up for an invasion of American tourists next season after proving a huge hit with the country's top travel writers.

More than 70 articles and broadcasts in the US this year have already featured Northern Ireland.

Top publications carrying favourable articles include the New York Times, LA Times, Boston Sunday Globe, Chicago Tribune, Condé Nast Traveler, Washington Times, Robb Report, Travel Leisure Golf Magazine, Discovery Travel and Golf Resorts International TV.

And Tourism Ireland, which has been spearheading a major push to promote the province abroad, is expecting even more positive coverage to come, following a successful visit by the prestigious Society of American Travel Writers.

Tourism Ireland joined forces with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to bring the writers to some of Ulster's must-see spots, including Londonderry's walls, the Giant's Causeway, the Mourne mountains and Belfast.

Joe Byrne, head of North America with Tourism Ireland, said: "We are delighted at the level of positive travel coverage Northern Ireland has received in the US so far this year.

"We are particularly pleased to have a group from the Society of American Travel Writers - the pre-eminent professional organisation of travel communicators in the US - visiting Northern Ireland following their annual conference in Manchester.

"This visit proved to be the most popular post-conference familiarisation trip of all the European destinations offered - a true indicator of the level of interest in Northern Ireland now among the travel media fraternity, and it certainly augurs well for 2008 and beyond."

NITB Chief executive Alan Clarke added: "NITB was delighted to host the Society of American Travel Writers.

"North America is a hugely important market - more than one million visitors visit the island of Ireland every year, and together with Tourism Ireland, we must encourage a lot more of them to Northern Ireland."