Tourism Ireland leads sales blitz to Canada

Tourism Ireland leads sales blitz to Canada

Tourism Ireland, together with a delegation of tourism companies from the island of Ireland, including three from Northern Ireland – Hastings Hotels, Titanic Belfast and Visit Armagh – is undertaking afive-city sales mission in Canada this week. The delegation is meeting key Canadian travel advisors, tour operators, airline and media representatives in the cities of St John’s, Halifax, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto.

Canada is an important growth market for overseas tourism to the island of Ireland – now representingour fifth-largest source of overseas tourism revenue. There has been strong growth in annual visitor numbers from Canada to the island of Ireland in recent years, up +35% since 2023, and with the first two months of 2026 also continuing this trend. 

This week’s sales mission provides an important opportunity for the participating tourism companies to do business with Canadian travel professionals for 2026 and beyond – highlighting the many things to see and do on a holiday here, including our world-class visitor attractions, our rich culture and heritage and our superb accommodation offering. 

Sandra Moffatt, Tourism Ireland’s Manager Canada, said: “Our sales blitz this week provides an excellent platform for our tourism partners to inform and influence Canadian travel professionals about what Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland can offer and, importantly, to encourage them to include the destination in their future programmes and recommend it to their clients.

“Air access from Canada to the island of Ireland for this summer is positive – with around 306,000 seats available on flights from six Canadian gateways, from four airlines, with capacity for the full summer season currently planned to be up +9% compared to summer 2025.”

Tourism Ireland is undertaking a major programme of consumer, media and travel trade and promotions throughout 2026 to continue to grow tourism from Canada. The organisation is inspiring potential Canadian visitors with compelling reasons to travel to Northern Ireland and the island ofIreland.