Tourism Ireland leads sales mission to the United States

Thursday, April 10, 2025. 2:24pm

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland (left) with delegation of tourism companies at Tourism Ireland’s East Coast Sales Mission in Detroit.

Tourism Ireland, together with a delegation of 14 tourism companies from Ireland, five American tour operators, Aer Lingus and Delta, is undertaking a sales mission to the United States this week.

The ‘Best of Ireland’ sales mission is visiting Detroit, Indianapolis and Nashville (our three newest gateways from the US), as well as Charlotte. An estimated 4,000 commercial meetings with 200 US travel advisors will take place this week, to drive partnership and tourism growth over the coming years. The schedule includes a B2B event in each city, as well as interactive presentations showcasing Ireland – with the participating companies promoting and selling their products and services to the American travel agents in attendance.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America, said:

“This week’s ‘Best of Ireland’ sales mission to Detroit, Indianapolis, Nashville and Charlotte provides an excellent platform to highlight the many things to see and do, and all that is new and exciting, on a holiday in Ireland in 2025. It’s a great opportunity for our tourism partners from Ireland to inform and influence the travel professionals they meet about what the island has to offer and, importantly, to encourage them to include the destination in their future programmes and recommend it to their clients.

“The United States remains an extremely important market for tourism and air access is a key part of the picture. This year, there are direct flights from 21 different US gateways, including new services from Detroit, Indianapolis and Nashville, with thanks to Aer Lingus, Delta and airport partners. This week’s sales mission is also a fantastic opportunity to update travel professionals in those gateway cities about the new direct flights to Ireland and, ultimately, to inspire even more US travellers to choose Ireland in 2025 and beyond.”