OVER 34,000 entries from across the United States of America and Canada were received for a digital tourism marketing campaign featuring a five-day getaway to Co Clare.

Organized by Cliffs of Moher Experience and supported by Tourism Ireland, Aer Lingus and Clare tour operators, the ‘Epic Trip’ competition targeted the North American market and reached an audience of 3.4 million via social media The Cliffs of Moher Experience.

On Tuesday morning, the winning couple, Peggy and Daniel Haukup from Wichita, Kansas, arrived at Dublin Airport. Their price includes direct return Aer Lingus flights from the United States with AVIS car rental and a five-night stay in Co Clare with included attractions and activities. They will visit parts of the county such as Liscannor, Doolin, Lahinch, the Burren, Ballyvaughan, Lisdoonvarna, Newmarket-on-Fergus and Ennis.

The flights were booked after a winner was selected, a spokesperson for The Cliffs of Moher Experience confirmed with no connecting flight between Chicago and Shannon Airport.

Cliffs of Moher Experience Director, Geraldine Enright, explained: “The success of this digital marketing campaign is the result of a collaborative effort involving Aer Lingus and Tourism Ireland and is proof that a digital marketing campaign -agencies can be very effective in capturing a wider audience”.

She said the campaign was funded by Tourism Ireland through the Industry Market Access Program (IMAP) ‘which was set up to help the tourism industry on the island of Ireland recover quickly effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Geraldine added, “The program places particular emphasis on supporting sales-oriented activities in key overseas markets such as the North American market, which our campaign has specifically targeted.”

Ms Enright said targeting the North American visitor market after two years of declines in international visitors to Ireland is key to the continued recovery of Ireland’s tourism sector. “Visitor numbers this summer are down in the Irish tourism sector compared to 2019 and therefore the focus must be this autumn and winter on tapping into the huge North American visitor market for us. sure to recover some of the ground lost due to the pandemic. . Our digital marketing campaign is proof that Ireland as a tourist destination remains a strong draw for Canadians and the United States.

The winning couple’s prize includes visits to the famous Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Aillwee Cave, Falls Hotel and Spa, Doolin Inn, Woodstock Hotel, lunch at Hylands in Ballyvaughan, Moher Cottage, Lahinch, Ennis, Burren Smokehouse and the Wild Honey Inn in Lisdoonvarna, a guided tour of the Burren with Dr. Eamon Doyle, Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, and a excursion to the foot of the Cliffs of Moher and the Aran Islands aboard the Doolin Ferry Company.

Melanie Lennon, Sales and Marketing Manager, Cliffs of Moher Experience, said the package holiday “incorporates the best of what Clare has to offer in terms of attractions, activities and our food products”.

She said: ‘Our aim has been to promote what the wider North Clare region has to offer beyond the Cliffs of Moher by tapping into our key objectives of the Cliffs of Moher 2040 strategy, which include providing benefits economic to the tourism economy in the broad sense. The support shown by the local sector throughout this campaign is very encouraging and underlines the importance and the benefits associated with the collaboration of the sector”.

The Cliffs of Moher Experience is Ireland’s most visited natural attraction, an iconic discovery point on the Wild Atlantic Way, a core geosite of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark and Special Protection Area (SPA) under the Natura 2000 designation. The tourist attraction is a tourism asset in its own right by Clare County Council.