Ireland sets reopening date, launches multimillion-dollar tourism campaign
Americans will once again be able to travel to Ireland starting on July 19, and Tourism Ireland has launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to help people get there.
According to Reuters, the country has had the strongest restrictions during the pandemic, imposing fines on travelers and two-week quarantines on incoming travelers from more than 50 countries. This next step in reopening will allow anyone with an approved vaccination to travel freely throughout the EU, of which Ireland is a member.
Children between ages 7 and 18 who haven’t been vaccinated must test negative for COVID-19 in order to enter. Unvaccinated adults must also test negative and quarantine until they receive a second negative test result.
Northern Ireland will not yet be reopening to tourists, the government citing the large spread of the Indian variant as being the main reason.
Tourism Ireland has launched a $4.2 million promotional campaign to build on the desire to travel to Ireland. Americans are one of the biggest drivers of the country’s tourism economy. Two million of its 11.3 million visitors in 2019 were North Americans, creating $2.3 billion in revenue.
The first phase of the campaign includes promotion on social media, including YouTube, and will be promoted in nine countries. The first film, called “Let’s get back to Ireland,” has already been released. Phase two begins in July with the reopening.
“We know from our research that there is significant pent-up demand among overseas visitors to return to Ireland as soon as possible,” said Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland.