The launch of The Gathering 2013 was officially announced this morning by Leo Varadkar, minister for tourism, transport and sport, at Toronto’s Arcadian Loft.
Over a traditional Irish breakfast, served by Oliver & Bonacini, Varadkar explained to the travel industry the different events that will be going on in Ireland to promote The Gathering 2013, a year long celebration of Irish culture, heritage and history.
 |
| Leo Varadkar, minister for tourism, transport and sport |
|
Varadkar started the presentation by talking about the fiscal crisis that Ireland went through several years ago, saying that “it has been very difficult...but we are starting to move in the right direction."
“The economic crisis in Ireland has forced us to reconsider Irishness and what it means to be Irish," he said. "One of the things that we really want to do as a government and as a country is to reconnect with the wider Irish family overseas, the 70 million or so people across the world who have some connection with Ireland.”
“We really want The Gathering to be a start of that - it’s not just a tourism initiative,” he continued. “[It’s going to be] a yearlong celebration of Ireland, of Irish culture and heritage, and everything that it means to be Irish or even just feel Irish.”
Jayne Shackleford, manager of Canada, Tourism Ireland, said that targeting Canada as a key market for The Gathering was an obvious choice.
 |
| Jayne Shackleford, manager of Canada, Tourism Ireland |
|
“In 2006, over four million Canadians claimed Irish ancestry,” she said. “The Gathering is an opportunity for us here in Canada and Tourism Ireland to increase and sharpen our focus on the diasporas in Canada. [It] will help us stand out and differentiate Ireland as a destination of choice in 2013 across all of the audiences in Canada."
Shackleford also said that Tourism Ireland will roll out a digital marketing campaign across the country next week and is also working with ancestry.ca to target the diasporas.
Varadkar concluded by saying that aside from the usual reasons to visit Ireland such as experiencing the culture, landscape and people, next year, the country will extend “an extra warm welcome” to visitors by offering different festivals throughout 2013.
Some of the events include the Saint Patrick’s festival; a new show from the makers of Riverdance; as well as smaller gatherings, such as clan reunions, and music, food, art, film and sport festivals that will take place around the country.
For information on The Gathering 2013, visit discoverireland.com or thegatheringireland.com.
|
