ONE week after the Queen of England confirmed she would come to Ireland the Kerry Tourism Industry will head to Britain on a double-decker bus to roll out the red carpet ahead of her Royal visit.

Over the next three weeks, not just Queen Elizabeth but everyone in Britain, Ireland’s biggest overseas market, will receive an invitation to visit the Kingdom of Kerry for a holiday or short break.

The new Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaelteacht Affairs and Kerry North TD, Jimmy Deenihan officially launched the promotion outside Government Buildings today.

Minister Deenihan outlined the importance attached to the overall campaign: “The Kerry Bus, which has been decorated with some of Kerry’s most spectacular images, will act as a mobile Irish Tourist Office. The ultimate aim of the tour is to win back the 1.3 million British tourists who have stopped visiting our shores for a variety of reasons. It will visit an array of major well-attended public events from London to Liverpool and from Cardiff to Manchester. It is fabulous to see all aspects of the Kerry Tourism Industry coming together to promote Kerry as the leading destination for UK holidays into Ireland.”

Kerry will be the main focus for the 100,000 people who will gather next Sunday in London to watch it take part in the St Patrick’s Day Parade and the post-Parade festivities in Trafalgar Square.

The team on-board the Kerry Bus will actively promote the county’s attractions and accommodation at the Best of Britain and Ireland Show in Birmingham on March 16^th and 17^th. This is the largest travel trade event of the year for the UK and Irish markets, with over 2,600 trade buyers attending over two days.

Before heading north to Manchester and Liverpool, the Kerry Bus will return to London via Cardiff to take part in the UK’s largest health, beauty and lifestyle event in London's Earls Court.  Not only will this promote the likes of Spa Breaks to Kerry, but it will also promote family holidays. The Kerry Tour Bus team will participate in a range of shopping centre promotions in all major cities along the route.

“To boost the Golf Break market into Kerry, the home if the Irish Open in 2011, we will circulate 40,000 promotional beer mats to golf clubs within one hour’s travel of London Luton, London Stansted and Manchester Airports as well as the Ferry Ports with direct access to Ireland,” said the Kerry Tour Manager, Thys Vogels.

The Kerry on Tour Promotion will last from March 11^th to April 15^th and will conclude with visits to Dublin, Cork and Limerick.

Kerry North Labour TD Arthur Spring and Kerry South Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae were also in attendance at today’s Kerry Bus launch.

The tour has been funded and supported by Kerry County Council, Tourism Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, All Kerry Tourism, South Kerry Development Partnership, Collarbor8 Interreg Programme, North & East Kerry Development, Holiday Tralee, Dingle Peninsula Tourism, Killarney Chamber of Tourism & Commerce, Swing Golf, Kerry Airport and Ballybunion Development Company. The bus was designed by the award-winning Tralee graphic designer, Paul Ruane of Midpoint Creative.

Ryanair and Tourism Ireland are engaged in co-operative marketing strategies linked to the promotion.

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