CLARE is set to get special promotion of its tourism attraction to US markets this year as part of a new initiative.

Tourism Ireland is rolling out its ‘twinning’ initiative this year, which involves overseas markets ‘twinning with’ a specific region or area in Ireland.

The United States is ‘twinning’ with Clare and Limerick, so Tourism Ireland in the United States is placing a special focus on both counties this year.

The tourism body held its March board meeting in Limerick last week and met with regional tourism representatives to discuss activity to restart overseas tourism to Ireland this year.

The extensive promotional programme which Tourism Ireland is undertaking to highlight Clare and Limerick, the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland around the world in 2022 was on the agenda also.

Speaking after the board meeting, Niall Gibbons, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “We were delighted to have the chance to meet with representatives of the Clare and Limerick tourism industry and to hear directly about their business.

“It also gave us the opportunity to discuss our plans to restart overseas tourism to Ireland this year and the extensive programme of activity which Tourism Ireland is undertaking around the world, to promote Clare and Limerick and Ireland to prospective visitors.”

Clare and Limerick feature prominently on Tourism Ireland’s international website Ireland.com, which attracted more than 23 million unique views in 2019. Clare and Limerick’s landscape and attractions are also highlighted through Tourism Ireland’s social media platforms, including Facebook (Tourism Ireland has around 4.68 million fans worldwide), Instagram (1.06 million followers), Twitter (over 542,000 followers) and YouTube.