As part of its 2024 Action Plan, Lloret Turisme continues to focus on strategic promotion in the Irish market, with various actions aimed at further positioning the destination in this market. Elizabeth Keegan, manager of Lloret Turisme, explains that “in just one year, the Irish market in Lloret de Mar has seen a 51.5% increase in the number of travellers and a 45.5% increase in the number of overnight stays, which clearly shows that this is a market with a growing interest in the destination”. In total, Lloret de Mar welcomed 15,502 travellers and 94,254 overnight stays in 2023.
Among the strengths of the Irish market strategy are the good connections with Girona Costa Brava Airport and the four Irish airports of Knock, Cork, Shannon and Dublin from April to October; the year-round flight between Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Girona; and the visitor profile, as this is a market that visits the destination mainly with families and couples in the pre- and post-season months. In addition, the big data indicators of Lloret Turisme’s tourism intelligence platform highlight Ireland as one of the potentially interesting markets to invest in over the coming years.
From the 26th to the 28th of January, Lloret Turisme was present in the Catalonia stand at the Holiday World Show, a fair that is dedicated to professionals on the first day and to the general public on the remaining days. It also participated in the “Meet the Media” event on the 7th of February, aimed at journalists and content creators, where it met around thirty professionals. Last year, Lloret Turisme also took part and, as a result of the contacts made, organised a press trip at the end of September with the Irish Daily Star, Northern Ireland Travel News, The Herald and the content creators of All about Rosa Lilla. The evaluation of these actions has been very positive and the director of Lloret Turisme points out that “with a view to 2023, we have noticed a significant increase in awareness of the destination in Ireland, undoubtedly due to the strategy developed by Lloret Turisme in conjunction with leading tour operators, media and influencers in the country”.
Finally, last week Lloret Turisme travelled to Ireland to participate in the TTR Spring Roadshow, which took place in the cities of Belfast, Dundalk and Waterford from the 20th to the 22nd of February, where it continued to present the destination’s new products and services to the nearly 100 tour operators and travel agents present in the three cities.
