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Mike McDonnell, Woodlands Caravan Park, Simone Langemann, Independent Tourist Consultant to Kerry County Council, Aisling Foley, The Rose Hotel, Monika Wörmann, Tourism Ireland, Sean McDaid, Do Dublin & Noel Ryan, Kerry Airport.
KERRY products were in high demand at CMT – Europe’s largest consumer travel fair – in Stuttgart last week and Tralee was well represented.
A Kerry County Council/Destination Kerry initiative saw Kerry showcasing its tourism products and activities with other Irish destinations at the Ireland Stand at the nine-day event. It follows on from the Kerry Airport promotion in Berlin last November.
2018 looks like being a bumper year for Kerry tourism from the German market. The county already attracts in excess of 400,000 German holidaymakers annually but the demand continues to grow.
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“Germany is Ireland’s largest continental European market and Kerry is their favoured regional destination. Over 400,000 German tourists visited Kerry in 2017 but the potential for further growth is enormous,” according to John Griffin, Tourism Officer with Kerry County Council.
Promoting Kerry at CMT in Stuttgart – Europe’s largest travel fair. Photo shows (l to r): Simone Langemann, Destination Kerry, Finola O’Mahony, Head of Europe, Tourism Ireland, Grace O’Donnell, Go Kerry, and John Griffin, Tourism Officer, Kerry County Council.
“Kerry has great brand recognition in the German market due to the popularity of Kerrygold butter, and the Ring of Kerry which has been promoted in the German market since the 1960s. These appeal to the more experienced travellers while it’s the Star Wars movies, focussing on Skellig Michael and Ceann Sibéal, that are attracting younger visitors.”
Among the groups that participated at CMT were Kerry Airport, Killarney Chamber of Tourism, Tralee Chamber Alliance, Go Kerry, Bonane Tourism and a number of individual providers.
The opportunity was taken by the Council’s Tourism Unit to unveil the new Kerry tourism brand ‘Your Natural Escape’ to a German audience which resonated very well with visitors to the stand.
