Knock airport yesterday launched its first television advertising campaign in Britain in an attempt to attract more tourists to the region this autumn and winter.
The Co Mayo hub has joined forces with Tourism Ireland in the cross-channel initiative which will reach a potential 8.4 million viewers. Ireland West Airport already operates services to and from UK destinations, including Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, London Stansted, Luton and Nottingham East Midlands.
The ads will be screened on Channel 4, Sky 1, Sky Sports, Sky Movies, Sky News, Fox News and other cable channels. "This TV campaign enables us to promote all our routes to a wider audience in Britain and together with Tourism Ireland, we hope to attract more visitors from this market to our region which should see additional spin-off benefits in terms of visitor numbers and tourism spend," said airport spokeswoman Annette Kearney.
The theme of the TV commercial is "Discover the secrets of the west of Ireland" and focuses on award-winning golf courses, local heritage and culture and scenery. Tourism Ireland Great Britain spokesman Lawrence Bate said: "Screening the campaign at this time of year is perfect for 'shoulder season' autumn mini-breaks as most consumers have already taken a main holiday." The commercial is a two-part production with the first 30 seconds broadcast at the beginning of the ad break featuring activities to do in the west and north-west.
The second part, which will be broadcast at the end of the ad break, will promote the ease with which British residents can avail of direct flight access to the west and north-west of Ireland via Knock airport.The majority of British visitors fly into Knock to visit family and friends and the TV campaign is aimed at encouraging first-time visitors to holiday in the region.
Ireland West Airport head Liam Scollan has called for all airports along the west coast of Ireland to unite to ensure strong air links to the region are maintained.He said more short-haul, low-cost flights to the UK and Europe which would also attract inbound tourism and economic development to the west were needed. He believes services to key hubs such as Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris are required to deliver worldwide connectivity for business links. - (PA)