SOAR
SOAR
(Situation & Outlook Analysis Report)
October 2022
Tourism Ireland’s Green Button campaigns continue to target holidaymakers in
our overseas markets, with promotional activity in Great Britain, USA and Canada,
Germany, France, Southern and Northern Europe and the Middle East. In addition,
our dedicated Halloween campaigns kick off in October, promoting the island of
Ireland as the ‘Home of Halloween’ across all markets. Tourism Ireland continues
to stay in close contact with trade partners in our key markets, building on strong
relationships to generate business for 2023 and beyond.
Based on latest OAG filings, scheduled air seat capacity to Ireland is at 96% of
October 2019 levels, with Northern Ireland scheduled at 100%. While the outlook is
quite positive, levels remain subject to change.
Tourism Economics reports that the rebound in global air travel demand faltered
mid-year, as economic headwinds hindered growth. Higher costs and squeezed
incomes are having some initial but modest impact, while labour shortages remain a
concern.
Global growth is projected to remain subdued in the second half of 2022, before
slowing further in 2023 to an annual growth of 2.2%, according to latest forecasts
from the OECD. Higher-than-expected inflation and rising interest rates worldwide
are likely to translate into higher travel costs and weigh on consumer spending.
The UNWTO has noted that the appreciation of the US dollar and its parity with the
euro, reached for the first time in two decades, could favour the competitiveness of
destinations in the euro area with regard to the US market in this latter half of 2022.
Sterling, while volatile at present, is also trading low against the US dollar, meaning
US holidaymakers will have access to good value holidays in Northern Ireland.
Stronger-than-expected travel demand continues to create operational and
workforce challenges, while the war in Ukraine, high inflation and rising interest
rates, as well as signs of an economic slowdown continue to pose a risk to
continuing recovery.
Expedia’s latest Traveler Insights Report shows that consumers worldwide still
want to travel and are making plans for future trips, in spite of economic
uncertainty. Enthusiasm for travel remains high and indications are positive for
travel intent for the remainder of 2022. The trend for shorter booking windows
persists, and the demand for long-haul travel remains steady. Global average
ticket prices continue to rise however, driven by strong demand and fluctuating
fuel costs. The demand for sustainable and inclusive travel also continues.
Latest data from the CSO reports a total of 2,038,000 arrivals to air and sea ports
in the Republic of Ireland during the month of August 2022 (this includes
residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as overseas
visitors).
STR reports that hotel occupancy on the island of Ireland was 85% for the month
of August 2022, -4% below the same month in 2019. The average daily rate was
€169, a +26% increase on August 2019.
SOAR
1
Global Travel Environment
The International Civil Aviation Organisation’s latest analyses reveal that global air transport seat
capacity and passenger totals have reached an estimated 80% of pre-pandemic levels, with
passenger revenue at around 72% of its 2019 high point. The number of air passengers carried from
January to August of this year increased by an estimated +55%, compared to the same period in
2021. Aircraft flight departures increased by +28%, with overall seat capacity growing by +32%
over the same period.
The short-term outlook for accommodation performance across STR’s 48 forecast markets
continues to improve, with 2022 occupancy and average daily rate (ADR) upgraded for most
European markets. Pent-up leisure demand continues and rescheduled COVID-era events are
helping corporate demand. Strong demand, alongside persistently high inflation and tight labour
markets, are expected to contribute to continued ADR growth. While the pace of recovery for most
European markets is expected to slow from Q4 2022 through Q1 2023, demand remains on track
for recovery by 2023 for the 32 European forecast markets. The inflationary environment will lead
to higher rates, with ADR growth expected to maintain double-digit growth levels this year and in
2023, when compared with 2019 rates.
Latest data from ForwardKeys shows that continued post-pandemic travel recovery remains likely,
despite rising inflation and threats of recession. Forward bookings for leisure travel show a
continued recovery post-pandemic and business bookings are catching up. Caution persists
though, due to the continued war in Ukraine and its consequent impact on energy prices, as this
will negatively affect European economies and likely dent consumer confidence and corporate
demand. However, it is important to note that there is currently a concentration of flight bookings
during the traditional autumn half-term peaks and Christmas. There is concern that these peaks
could lead to further flight disruption, if the recent recruitment difficulties experienced by the
aviation industry persist.
Overall global consumer confidence continues to decline as inflation rises and the worldwide cost
of living crisis kicks in. Global tourism sources report that medium to long term travel outlook
continues to remain unclear as the impact of rising household food and energy prices takes hold.
The Ipsos’ Global Consumer Confidence Index for September reads at 45.7, down 0.4 point since
August. The Index sits at its lowest point since April 2021. In addition, the Expectations index has
declined for the 11
th
consecutive month and it now sits at its lowest point since December 2020.
Consumer confidence in the EU hit its lowest level on record in September. The Flash Consumer
Confidence Indicator for EU and euro area recorded a continuing steep downward trend in
September, dropping by 3.5 points in the EU (-29.9) and 3.8 points in the euro area (-28.8).
A new Ipsos poll in GB shows high levels of public concern about the rising cost of living, with 90%
of Britons concerned about rising costs on themselves or the country as a whole. The GfK
Consumer Confidence indicator in the UK fell to -44 in August 2022 from -41 in July, hitting a new
record low. On 22 September, the Bank of England said Britain was now in recession and raised
interest rates by 0.5 percentage points to a 14-year high of 2.25%.
US consumer confidence increased in August, after falling for three months; however, concerns
about inflation remain elevated. Purchasing intentions increased after a decline in July, and
vacation intentions reached an eight-month high on the back of a strong dollar.
Note: At the time of writing, the UK government is working through a number of fiscal proposals
which are impacting on exchange rates; this is being closely monitored by Tourism Ireland.
SOAR
Economic Conditions
Source: Oxford Economics
Exchange rate
Sept ‘21 £1 : €1.17 Sept ‘22 £1 : €1.11
Exchange rate
Sept ‘21 $1 : €0.85 Sept‘22 $1 : €1.04
Sept ‘21 $1 : £0.73 Sept ‘22 $1 : £0.92
2.6%
2.3%
6.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
GDP 4.5% 4.8% Consumer Prices Private Consumption
Exchange rate
Sept‘21 €1 : £0.86 Sept ‘22 €1 : £0.90
2022 Economic Outlook by
Oxford Economics trended each month
Exchange rate
Sept ‘21 €1 : £0.86 Sept ‘22 €1 : £0.90
7.9%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
GDP Consumer Prices Private Consumption
4.0%
3.5%
9.0%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
GDP Consumer Prices Private Consumption
1.3%
7.5%
4.3%
0.0%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
GDP Consumer Prices Private Consumption
Great Britain
Due to the month-to-month volatility, Oxford
Economics’ latest published forecast believes
that the UK economy has little momentum and
it cut its forecast for 2023 GDP growth by
0.1ppts to 0.2%. It expects another fall in GDP
in Q3. The volatile movement in the value of
sterling and government fiscal interventions
since this forecast was published are expected
to further impact economic growth and add to
the instability.
US
Oxford Economics’ forecast for 2022 real GDP
growth remains unchanged at 1.7%, as
economic momentum should remain resilient in
H2 2022. The US economy is expected to
experience a mild recession in H1 2023, as high
inflation, rising interest rates, lingering supply
chain difficulties, softer labour market dynamics
and global headwinds weaken demand. It has
cut their 2023 forecast by 1ppt to a flat
outcome.
France
Oxford Economics now expects higher inflation
and a recession in France this winter. GDP is
forecast to shrink in Q4 2022 and Q1 2023 and
expected to barely grow in Q2 2023. It expects
the economy to advance just 0.2% in 2023,
down from 0.9% in August. Inflation is forecast
to average 6.0% in 2022 and 4.4% in 2023, up
from 5.7% and 2.0% respectively.
Germany
Oxford Economics now sees German inflation
peaking higher than forecast and slowing more
gradually, given the elevated gas price forecast.
Real incomes will contract in 2023, deepening
the dip in consumer spending. It forecasts the
economy entering recession in Q3. The 2022
GDP forecast has been cut 0.2ppts to 1.3% and
the 2023 forecasts cut another 1.0ppt to -0.8%,
with inflation now seen above 4% next year.
1.7%
2.5%
NB: Currency rates as at 28 September 2022
SOAR
Island of Ireland Access Situation
Air Access October 2022 – % share of 2019
October Seat Capacity
Commentary
XXXXXXXXXXX
Airports 181 104%
Flights 14,141 95%
Airlines 48 100%
IOI seats
2,357,381
97%
GB 1.0m 96%
ME 1.1m 97%
NA 219k 99%
OA 77k 111%
IOI Seat Capacity
Airports
Oct 2019
Seats
Oct 2022
Seats
2022 % share
of 2019
Belfast Int.
311,043
290,208
93%
Belfast City
133,987
159,811
119%
City of Derry
12,000
9,262
77%
Dublin
1,701,861
1,625,329
96%
Cork
128,627
127,551
99%
Shannon
81,246
78,418
97%
Knock
44,678
49,792
111%
Kerry
15,876
17,010
107%
Donegal
660
0
0%
Total
2,429,978
2,357,381
97%
NI seats
459,281
Ireland seats
1,898,100
-
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
2,500,000
3,000,000
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Island of Ireland Scheduled Seats 2019 - 2022
2019 2020 2021 2022 Forecast
A strong restoration of
direct air access
capacity to the island of
Ireland is scheduled for
October. Based on
latest OAG filings,
scheduled air seat
capacity to Ireland is
scheduled at 96% of
October 2019 levels,
with Northern Ireland
scheduled at 100%.
Latest available data for August 2022 shows
more cars travelling on ferries to the island of
Ireland from GB than in 2019. Car traffic to
Northern Ireland is +28% above 2019 levels,
while car traffic to Ireland (central and southern
corridors) remains down on 2019 levels. There is
no data available on car traffic to the island of
Ireland from continental Europe at present.
Source: OAG
Market connectivity is scheduled to
be close to 2019 levels. Seat
capacity from GB and Mainland
Europe is filed at 96% and 97% of
October 2019 levels respectively.
The same number of airlines (48)
are scheduled to operate in
October 2022 as October 2019.
Ferry Performance – August 2022 v 2019
Car Ferry Traffic
August 2022 % share of 2019
Northern corridor
126%
Central corridor
88%
Southern corridor
94%
Total
106%
GB = Great Britain ME = Mainland Europe NA = North America OA = Other Areas
Airports Outlook – October
Seat capacity to the island of Ireland is scheduled
at 97% of the level it was in October 2019.
Dublin and Cork airports are currently filed to return to
96% and 99% of their respective 2019 seat capacities.
Belfast City Airport and Belfast International Airport are
filed at 119% and 93% respectively.
While the capacity outlook is very positive for October, the
airline industry continues to experience several
operational issues including strike action, staff recruitment
and flight cancellations, which may roll over and impact
future schedules.
SOAR
Performance to date
Republic of Ireland Overseas Arrivals
Source: CSO
Note: Overseas arrivals are ALL passengers travelling through ROI air and
sea ports (incl. residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland)
Hotel accommodation
Source: STR August 2022
ADR = Average Daily Rate
Republic of Ireland overseas arrivals
January-August 2022
Latest available data from the CSO reported a total of
2,038,000 overseas arrivals into air and sea ports in the
Republic of Ireland during August 2022 (this includes
residents of the Republic of Ireland and Northern
Ireland).
Arrivals data for August 2022 is at 90% of August 2019.
ROI OVERSEAS ARRIVALS 2022 VS. 2019
Main market area
Jan-Aug 2022
(000’s)
% change
‘22/’19
Cross
-Channel 3,894 -25%
North America
1,095 -25%
Mainland Europe
5,918 -12%
Rest of the world
340 -24%
Total Overseas
11,247 -19%
ROI OVERSEAS ARRIVALS
LATEST AUG 2022: 1.8m -10%
YTD JAN-AUG 2022: 10.5m -19%
ROI OVERSEAS ARRIVALS
LATEST AUG 2022: 201k -10%
YTD JAN-AUG 2022: 768k -17%
ADR
€174.78 €182.35 £107.77 £106.24
Occupancy
86% 87% 82% 83%
Note: Data include residents from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
Latest performance data from STR
reports that hotel occupancy for
August 2022 in Northern Ireland was
-2% of August 2019. In Ireland,
occupancy was -4% of August 2019.
The average daily rate (ADR) for a
room in Northern Ireland in August
2022 increased by +31% to £108 and
in Belfast by +30% to £106, when
compared to the same period in
2019.
In Ireland, the average daily rate was
up +24% to €175 in August 2022,
when compared to same period in
2019. The average daily rate in
Dublin for August 2022 was almost
€182, up +21% on the same month in
2019.
-4%
-4%
-2%
-4%
+24%
+21%
+31%
+30%
+19%
+17%
+28%
+26%
-20%
0%
20%
40%
Ireland Dublin Northern Ireland Belfast
Island of Ireland Hotel Performance
August 2022/August 2019 % change
Occupancy Average Daily Rate Revenue Per Available Room
SOAR
Access update
5
Great Britain
Market activity update
• The fourth burst of our Green Button campaign went live in September and will run until early
November featuring radio, cinema, broadcast-video-on-demand (BVOD), digital and social.
• A new
‘
Derry~Londonderry and Donegal campaign 'two unique places, one amazing holiday’ was
launched in September. Activity includes out-of-home advertising (OOH), digital, social,
co-operative partnerships (with Loganair, Ryanair, easyJet, Travelzoo and Tripadvisor) and a
Wanderlust
media partnership. Campaign is also supported by publicity and trade activity.
• Island of Ireland co-op partnerships with Aer Lingus, Ryanair, Stena Line, British Airways,
Kayak and Expedia were live from September, to drive bookings to the island of Ireland in
the shoulder months and winter season.
• Media press visits were recently hosted for titles including
The Telegraph
,
The Scotsman
,
Food
& Travel
,
London Unattached
and
Country Living m
agazine.
• Other publicity highlights include Wild Atlantic Way feature (
The Sunday Times
), Galway city
break feature (
The Sun
) and Derry~Londonderry and Donegal feature (
Wanderlust
magazine).
• BMW PGA Golf Championship at Wentworth (7-11 September), when Tourism Ireland hosted six
island of Ireland industry; approximately 100,000 golf consumers attended the event.
• Trade fam trip for 14 leading GB coach and group tour operators took place on 15-20
September. The itinerary included Derry~Londonderry, Donegal and Sligo, as well as a
B2B workshop to meet with local tourism enterprises in Derry~Londonderry to discuss product
and programming.
• Trade partnership activity with tour operators including Just Go! Holidays, National Holidays,
Glenton Holidays, McKinlay Kidd, Barrhead Travel and Charitable Travel is live during
September and October, highlighting autumn/winter packages.
• Tourism Ireland was the destination sponsor at the Inteletravel Quest Conference (29
September-1 October) hosting approximately 280 home-working travel consultants. Our
sponsorship included a Belfast and Northern Ireland fam trip.
• Meet in Ireland : Tourism Ireland GB will host a “North of England Retreat” (6-7 October), when
12 island of Ireland industry partners will meet with 15 GB event agencies and MICE planners.
• N.B :
Advertising and marketing activity was paused on 9– 21 Sept ember in respect of the passing of HM Queen
Elizabeth II and some events were adapted or temporarily suspended to align with national guidelines.
Access update
News
• easyJet announced new routes to Belfast City from Bristol
(September) and Glasgow (from end October) and recently added
services from London Gatwick and Liverpool.
• Aer Lingus Regional (operated by Emerald Airlines) will launch new
flights to Dublin from Southampton and Aberdeen from October.
• Flybe has announced a new winter schedule increasing services to
Belfast City, including from Birmingham and East Midlands.
• Loganair has announced increasing capacity and lowering fares
between Aberdeen and Dublin this winter and for the year ahead.
• Ryanair will launch a new route to Cork from Newcastle (from
October).
• Heathrow airport’s 100,000 passenger-a-day capacity cap has
been extended until late October.
Ryanair
42%
Aer Lingus
23%
easyJet
22%
British Airways
6%
Other
7%
2022 October GB to IOI
forecast seat capacity
Total seats: 1,009,300
SOAR
Access update
TRADE
6
North America and Australia
Market activity update
Access update
Total seats: 218,700
News
USA: Aer Lingus has announced a new transatlantic route for
summer 2023 – its first service from Cleveland, Ohio, direct to
Dublin Airport. The September/October period marks the end of
several scheduled seasonal services operated by United
(Washington DC and Chicago to Dublin; Newark to Shannon);
American (Dallas, Charlotte and Chicago to Dublin) and Delta
(Atlanta to Dublin). However, the overall access picture remains
positive for winter 2022/2023, with all planned year-round
routes running as scheduled. Projected winter 2022 capacity
from the US is 102% versus 2019.
Australia: Qatar added a second daily flight from Melbourne
through to Doha to connect to Dublin, from 1 October.
Aer
Lingus
59%
American
Airlines
13%
United
Airlines
8%
Delta Air
Lines 10%
Air
Canada
4%
Other
5%
2022 October NA to IOI
forecast seat capacity
USA
• The Green Button campaign continues into autumn, with seasonal Halloween messaging
and relevant tactical offers.
• Wild Atlantic Way campaign targeting cities with direct service to Shannon is live from
September until November, featuring custom partner content, digital, outdoor, as well
as tactical offers on Ireland.com and on leading travel and travel deal websites. Omni-
channel campaign is supported by co-op airline campaigns with Aer Lingus and United,
promoting direct flights from JFK, Boston and Newark, together with trade
communications campaign. Tourism Ireland hosted two B2B events in New York and
Boston in partnership with The Shannon Airport Group, attended by 80 US tour operator
and media contacts.
• Aer Lingus College Football Classic in August featured gameday promotion with in-
stadium signage and video spots during the live broadcast on FOX, with a record 4.41
million viewers.
• Luxury advisor events: Tourism Ireland and 10 industry partners participated in GTM, as
well as in UltraSummit, meeting with 165+ luxury travel advisors mid-summer. 26
partners joined us in August at the annual Virtuoso Travelmart, attended by 5,000 luxury
travel professionals.
• Publicity: Tourism Ireland hosted US travel guru Samantha Brown in September.
The Emmy-winning host filmed at key locations in Northern Ireland and Limerick. Two
shows will broadcast on the PBS network, available in 100 million homes nationwide.
Canada:
• The Green Button campaign continues with a strategic focus on off-peak travel and
Halloween, including a tactical partnership with Travelzoo and sponsored content on CBC.
• Media partnership with Corus Entertainment will see strong broadcast and digital coverage
throughout October on specialty channels – Food Network, W Network and History Channel.
• Carrier and tour operator co-op campaigns are highlighting competitive price points for
autumn/winter travel with a burst of end-of-season and Black Friday sales.
• Fam trip to Ireland's Ancient East in October, in partnership with Indus Travels and Aer Lingus,
is showcasing Ireland to 12+ group leaders promoting history, heritage and off-peak travel.
Australia:
• The Green Button campaign is running from September to November on online and social
media channels, with an estimated reach of up to 10.7 million Australians.
• TV project with Guru Productions filmed two episodes in September, as part of its
Explore TV
series, highlighting Ireland’s Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way and Northern Ireland; it will be
broadcast on the 9 Network to more than 800,000 Australians in 2023.
• Co-op campaigns are confirmed with local trade operators, including Globus, Contiki and
Trafalgar Tours, from mid-September to late October to promote all regions across the island
of Ireland with tactical offers for the coach touring market segments.
SOAR
Access update
Germany
76%
Austria
6%
Switzerland
18%
2022 October Germany, Austria
Switzerland forecast seat capacity
7
Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Market activity update
Access update
News
Germany: New Ryanair route Leipzig/Halle to Dublin twice
weekly starting in November.
Switzerland: Planned new seasonal route Geneva to Cork with
Swiss Airlines from 17 December to 25 March.
Austria: Aer Lingus Vienna to Dublin service operating five times
weekly, since September. Ryanair new twice-weekly winter
Klagenfurt to Dublin flight will run from November to March
2023 and Salzburg to Dublin runs weekly from December to
March. Jet2 will have weekly Salzburg to Belfast flights from
December 2022 to March 2023.
Total seats: 143,600
Germany
• Lastminute.com campaign is running since September and features dynamic
packages and roundtrip offers from key German tour operators.
• Ryanair campaign is promoting flights to Dublin, Kerry and Knock, with online
banners and radio campaign, as well as social media and email marketing.
• Digital campaign with Eurowings on theh Google Display Network is promoting
flights from Cologne and Düsseldorf to Dublin in autumn/winter.
• Tiktok group
The Elevator Mansion
travelled to the Causeway Coast, Donegal
and Dublin and released a paid YouTube video at the end of September. So far,
their Instagram in-feed Ireland posts have reached 1.4 million (excl. Instagram
Stories) and their TikToks from the island of Ireland reached 24.8 million views.
• OTA campaign with Journaway running from September is promoting off-season
travel to the island of Ireland.
• Co-op campaign with new tour operator I Travel will run in October, targeting
high spend consumers.
• Media – a dedicated ‘Ireland’ edition of
MERIAN
special interest travel magazine
will be published in October.
Switzerland
• Co-op access campaign with Edelweiss Air running across social media channels
to promote Zurich/Cork route.
• Two group media visits to Northern Ireland took place in September.
• Media co-op with new outlet TravelMagazin about the island of Ireland’s culinary
specialities – distributed during the “Food Zurich” festival in September and
supported by a podcast on travelmagazin.ch.
• Tourism Ireland and eight industry partners attended the Adventure Travel World
Summit in Lugano in early October.
• Tourism Ireland will promote the island of Ireland at the “Fernweh” consumer
festival in Berne on 29-30 October; highlights will include Céilí dance
performance and trade support from Ireland specialist AG Traveltrend.
Austria
• OTA campaign with Lastminute.com running since September to promote travel
to the island of Ireland for the autumn/winter period.
• Co-op campaigns with Service Reise to promote group bus tours to the island of
Ireland for 2023.
• Group press trip to promote new Klagenfurt/Dublin flight which starts in
November.
• Dedicated press trips will promote music in Belfast.
pics
SOAR
Access update
TRADE
8
Southern Europe – France, Spain
and Italy
Market activity update
Access update – Southern Europe
News
France: Vueling’s seasonal Paris-Shannon service runs from Sept
to Mar 2023 and Paris-Cork into winter 2022/2023
Ryanair announced a new Paris-Belfast route from March 2023.
Italy: Ryanair’s new route from Milan-Belfast run from next spring,
establishing new direct access from Italy.
Spain: Brittany Ferries’ new LNG-powered cruise ferry serving
Bilbao-Rosslare will run from Nov. Ryanair will offer new access
from Asturias-Dublin from Nov.
France
38%
Italy
31%
Spain
31%
2022 October Southern Europe
forecast seat capacity (excl. sun)
Total seats: 317,000
France
• Co-op campaigns with Ryanair promoting access to Cork & Dublin, while Brittany Ferries
and Irish Ferries campaigns are promoting low and shoulder season travel.
• Workshops include Tourmag Bordeaux , Lyon & Toulouse with 60 key trade partners.
• Visiteurs roadshow welcomed 40 trade agents in Sept.
• IFTM Paris - 14 industry partners joined Tourism Ireland to promote the island of Ireland at
France's largest trade fair.
• Cazoo Opem de France saw Tourism Ireland and partners promoting our world-class golf.
• Experience Point-to-Point campaign promoting direct access to WAW from Paris to Cork
and Shannon and via ferry from west of France, includes DOOH, social media and digital
programmatic ; live during Sept-Oct.
• City Breaks campaign promoting autumn short breaks to Dublin & Belfast on social media,
digital programmatic, with audio ads on a selection of podcasts, DOOH and through a
media partnership; live during Sept-Oct.
Spain
• City Breaks campaign promoting Dublin and Belfast will run until the end of Oct across
social media (Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest), programmatic video display (YouTube,
Seedtag, Acuity) and display banners, geo-targeting Madrid, Catalonia and Northern
regions.
• Co-op campaigns run during Sept and Oct include airline activity with Ryanair promoting
regional access (Cork, Knock & Shannon) via Catalonia, and Dublin via Madrid, reaching
millions of potential visitors across radio and digital.
• OTA campaigns with Atrápalo and Logitravel are active to drive business for Q4.
Promotional campaign with leading travel retailer B Travel is live across print and CTV
formats as well as extensive coverage across their agency network promoting longer-stay
city breaks and island of Ireland packages.
Italy
• Co-op campaigns with Logitravel in Oct and with Ryanair running Sept-Nov. Joint event on
in Oct promoting new routes and winter routes to Cork, Knock, Dublin and Shannon.
• Tradeshows: Tourism Ireland attended TTG Rimini 13-15 Oct and IGTM Rome 17-20 Oct
• Citybreak campaign from Sept-Nov featuring Dublin, Cork and Belfast and features digital
and social media, and 2 jumbo trams will be branded in Milan in Oct/Nov.
• Twinning region campaign with Kerry will include a key influencer trip in Nov.
• Luxury social media campaign supported by luxury trade workshop in Rome on 12-15 Nov.
• “Ireland: island of voices” literary events with six Irish authors at the Mantova Literary
Festival with the island of Ireland featuring on national TV, showcasing destination
videos, with live streaming, social content and print media and radio coverage.
• Exclusive ’Ireland’ edition of In Viaggio printed magazine with 120 pages dedicated to the
island of Ireland highlighting our key themes and iconic landscapes.
• 6 episodes of TV show “Andata e ritorno” dedicated to Ireland was broadcasted weekly on
Alma TV in Aug-Sept as result of a media visit in cooperation with Tourism Northern
Ireland.
SOAR
Access update
9
Northern Europe
Market activity update
Belgium and the Netherlands:
• Green Button City Break campaign is running in the Netherlands and Belgium from
August until October across YouTube, paid social, display banners and branded
content. Partnership with &C Lifestyle, is highlighting city breaks in Dublin and
Belfast, supported by four influencer visits to Dublin and Belfast. A campaign with
Skyscanner promoting city breaks to Dublin went live in early October.
• A co-op campaign with Ryanair is running in September and October, promoting
flights from Belgium and the Netherlands to Dublin.
• Co-op campaign with Expedia promoting ease of access to Cork is live during
September and October.
• Tourism Ireland’s B2B workshops in Brussels and Amersfoort welcomed 15 industry
partners from the island of Ireland, who connected with more than 40 Belgian and
Dutch tour operators and travel agents.
• Halloween themed media event takes place on 31 October, with 40 key journalists
and influencers invited; the event will celebrate Ireland’s connection with
Halloween and highlight key themes for 2023.
Nordics:
• Green Button City Break campaign live in the Nordics during September and
October across YouTube, social and native ads, highlighting city breaks in Dublin
and Belfast. It was supported with an influencer visit from each Nordic market
showcasing city breaks.
•
God Morgen Norge
, a popular breakfast show in Norway with a daily audience of
700,000, broadcast live from the Guinness Storehouse and Viking Splash Tour in
August.
•
Farmer seeking love,
filmed during the summer in Huntington Castle and featuring
activities such as horse riding, foraging and whiskey tasting, was broadcast in
Denmark across two episodes on 27 September and 4 October.
• Ryanair co-op activity promoting three routes to Dublin (Copenhagen, Billund and
Gothenburg) went live in September.
• Co-op campaigns with leading tour operators such as AirTours and Stena Line were
actively promoting travel to the island of Ireland during Q3.
• The 'Made in Himmerland' golf tournament in September, with industry partners,
highlighted our fantastic golf product.
• Halloween events targeting media and trade will take place in Stockholm and
Copenhagen, highlighting Ireland as the Home of Halloween and showcasing key
themes for 2023.
Access update
News
Belgium and the Netherlands:
• Ryanair will close its Brussels Zaventem base this winter
(two aircrafts); this is expected to have a marginal impact on
the number of flights to Dublin.
Nordics:
• Eurowings has announced flights from Copenhagen,
Stockholm and Gothenburg to Dublin via Düsseldorf for the
coming months.
• Ryanair will suspend its Gothenburg to Dublin service from the
end of October. (Restart date tbc.)
Netherlands
59%
Belgium
19%
Denmark
10%
Sweden 5%
Norway
4%
Finland
3%
2022 October Northern Europe to IOI
forecast seat capacity
Total seats: 134,000
SOAR
Access update
10
Emerging Markets and Global Inbound
Market activity update
Access update
United Arab
Emirates
41%
Turkey
36%
Qatar
16%
Morocco 4%
Egypt
3%
2022 October forecast seat capacity
Total seats: 77,200
Global Inbound:
• Flavours of Ireland will take place on 26 Oct, hosting 60 island of Ireland industry partners
and more than 100 global inbound operators and wholesalers.
• ITB Asia – Tourism Ireland will showcase the island of Ireland at this prestigious travel
event in Singapore on 19-21 Oct.
• Global European Market event will take place on 3-4 Nov, providing a platform for industry
from the island of Ireland to meet with global inbound operators and wholesalers.
• Partnerships: Tourism Ireland is continuing to work with Miki Travel, AC Tours and Kuoni
Tumlare this autumn/winter, to deliver a series of virtual training webinars and online
marketing activities to top-selling travel agents in South-East Asia and China.
Middle East:
• Tourism Ireland’s Green Button autumn campaign resumed in Sept and includes
programmatic display, social media and radio.
• Tourism Ireland joined the Travel Counsellors Conference 2022 in Sept, meeting with 75
UAE-based Travel Counsellors.
• An ultra-luxury fam with four luxury tour operators visited the island of Ireland in
September.
• TFest takes place in Dubai on 3-6 Oct with 15 industry partners attending.
• Co-op campaign with Dnata Travel includes in-store activations, digital channels, print and
radio advertising.
China and India:
• Co-op campaign with Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo is ongoing since Sept and
has reached more than 60 million to date.
• Media event in collaboration with NI Bureau in China is themed around screen tourism in
Northern Ireland.
• ITB China Industry Meet-Up returned to Shanghai on 21 Sept and Tourism Ireland and
partners showcased Ireland to more than 400 Chinese travel trade.
• Digital marketing campaign to promote the 2030 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which Ireland
will co-host with England and Scotland. A series of videos starring Kevin O'Brien and
Rohan Gavaskar were produced in collaboration with DFA and Cricket Ireland and will run
in Q4 to showcase the island of Ireland to potential travellers in India.
• OTM, one of India’s biggest trade shows, saw Tourism Ireland meeting with 50 travel
agents to promote the island of Ireland, in September.
• Media – coverage in
Architectural Digest
,
National Geographic Traveller
and
Motoring
World
following a series of press visits.
Elle
magazine will visit the island of Ireland in Dec
with another top tier press trip taking place in Nov.
News
Middle East: Emirates has returned to a double-daily service from
Dubai to Dublin.
China: From 5December, British Airways will resume flights
between London and Hong Kong, with four flights per week, to
increase to daily flights from 19 December, with onward
connections to the island of Ireland.
India: Virgin Atlantic and Aer Lingus have a codeshare for Heathrow
to Ireland flights, improving connectivity to Ireland from India.
Virgin Atlantic and Indigo have signed a codeshare agreement so
passengers can connect to seven additional cities from Delhi and
Mumbai.
SOAR
Contact details
Tourism Ireland
Bishop’s Square
Redmond’s Hill
Dublin 2
Ireland
D02 TD99
T: +353 1 476 3400
E: info@tourismireland.com
Tourism Ireland
Beresford House
2 Beresford Road
Coleraine
Northern Ireland
BT52 1GE
T: +44 28 7035 9200
E: corporate.coleraine@tourismireland.com
More information:
www.tourismireland.com
www.Ireland.com
This report has been produced with available data up until 28 September 2022. Every effort has been made to ensure all data is accurate;
however, Tourism Ireland does not take responsibility for any errors or omissions. If quoting from SOAR, please reference both Tourism Ireland and
the original source of the information.