‘Our aim is to spread the success’
Ask Niall Gibbons to reveal a hidden gem in his home city and he’ll tell you about The Little Museum of Dublin. He’s a man who loves the capital, mostly for its simplicity.
He’s been Tourism Ireland’s Chief Executive since 2009 and more recently, he was appointed deputy vice president of Dublin Chamber – the organisation represents the interests of businesses in the Greater Dublin Area.
Niall, tell us a little about yourself...
I’m a business graduate of Trinity College Dublin. Having qualified as an accountant with Coopers and Lybrand, I worked for a few years in the private sector. I then moved to the public sector with the Marine Institute, for seven years. I joined Tourism Ireland as Director of Corporate Services in early 2002, just as the organisation was being set up and, in June 2009, I was appointed Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland.
How has tourism impacted Dublin in previous years?
Tourism is fundamental to the economy of Dublin and we’ve seen the impact of the success of overseas tourism on our city in recent years. Dublin earns close to €2 billion from around six million overseas tourists each year. Almost two-thirds of overseas tourists to Ireland visit Dublin as part of their trip.
How do you feel the Irish tourism industry is performing?
2018 was another record year for
Irish tourism, surpassing all previous records and coming on the back of a number of years of strong growth. Revenue generated by overseas visitors last year was approximately €6.1 billion - a +10% increase over 2017; helping to sustain around 320,000 valuable jobs in communities across the island. Around 11.2 million people visited the island of Ireland in 2018, a +6% increase over 2017, with growth recorded from all markets.
In 2019, the ambition is to grow overseas tourism revenue by +6%, to
€6.5 billion for the island of Ireland; and to grow visitor numbers to 11.67 million (+4%). Our aim is to spread the success throughout the year and around the entire island of Ireland – ensuring we maintain our renowned welcome and superb visitor experience.
Highlights in recent years?
The launch of Tourism Ireland’s global website, Ireland.com, which attracts more than 20 million visits per year. Also, Tourism Ireland’s emergence as a leader in digital marketing and in the social media space – Tourism Ireland now ranks fourth in the world among tourism boards on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, with a global digital reach of one billion.
The development and growth of Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative since it was first launched back in 2010 has also been a highlight. Our Global Greening has brought tourism to the heart of St Patrick’s Day celebrations across the world and it generates positive international media coverage worth millions of euro each March for the island of Ireland. Last year, we saw over 300 sites and global icons light green for the day; in honour of our patron saint and our diaspora abroad.
Tourism Ireland’s expansion into the tourism markets of the future, and in particular China, is also very exciting.