Tourism executives in Ireland are looking to the East for inspiration. Following reports that Ireland’s tourist industry has suffered a 9% decline during the recent global recession, tourisM bosses are looking to countries such as China, India and various Middle Eastern countries to boost numbers.

The move towards promotion, marketing and advertising in the East comes as visitor numbers from Britain and the US continue to fall.

Research indicates that tourists coming from further a field spend longer in the country, thus bringing in more revenue as they rent cars, stay in Irish hotels and visit many more attractions than do our closer visitors.

The recent marketing initiative follows the success of promotions already rolled out in South Africa, New Zealand, Australia and Japan which has been responsible for a growth in the number of tourists visiting Ireland in recent months.