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Tourism Ireland Targets UK Market with Strategic House of Lords Reception and New Travel Guidelines Ahead of St. Patrick’s Day Rush
Published on
March 13, 2026
Image generated with AiAs the excitement builds ahead of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, Tourism Ireland is gearing up for a major push to drive spring and summer tourism to Ireland. On March 11, 2026, the organization hosted a prestigious reception in the UK House of Lords, marking the launch of a week-long campaign aimed at strengthening relationships with the UK travel trade. The event, which was co-sponsored by members of both Houses of Parliament, brought together top UK travel industry professionals, key media players, and influential members of the Irish community.The primary focus of the event was to promote tourism to Ireland in the lead-up to the anticipated surge in travel around St. Patrick’s Day, one of the most popular holidays for Irish celebrations globally. As part of the reception, Tourism Ireland highlighted key strategies for increasing British tourism to Ireland, emphasizing the importance of maintaining strong connections with the UK travel trade, which remains Ireland’s largest source market.
UK–Ireland Travel Boost: Tourism Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day Strategy
In its presentation, Tourism Ireland officials revealed that overseas tourism to Ireland was worth an impressive €6 billion in 2025 and that the UK accounted for a substantial 42% of all arrivals. This shows just how crucial the UK market is for Ireland’s tourism industry. The reception marks the first step of Tourism Ireland’s roadshow, which will visit Manchester, Birmingham, and Glasgow in the coming days, with networking breakfasts and live-streamed B2B workshops aimed at promoting new air and ferry routes between the two countries.AdvertisementTo further facilitate travel between the UK and Ireland, Ryanair and Aer Lingus have announced 48,000 additional seats for the Great Britain–Ireland corridor. This increase in capacity for the March–May shoulder season is expected to significantly ease the demand during one of the busiest periods of the year for travel. Meanwhile, Irish Ferries has confirmed two additional daily sailings between Holyhead and Dublin, further bolstering transport links between the UK and Ireland during this peak period.
New Travel Guidelines and Common Travel Area (CTA) Arrangements ExplainedAdvertisementAdvertisementA key point raised during the reception was the evolving travel landscape post-Brexit, particularly for travelers navigating the Common Travel Area (CTA). As part of the UK–Ireland travel agreement, Ireland and the UK continue to maintain open borders for travelers, but there have been some new rules in place that affect business and leisure travelers alike.
In response to confusion surrounding visa processing and travel authorizations, Tourism Ireland used the opportunity to clarify that travelers flying from the UK to Ireland do not need a UK Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) provided th …