Tourism Ireland Appoints Grey London as Its New Strategic and Creative Services Agency

Tourism Ireland has appointed Grey London to develop its global creative work from January 2025. Tourism Ireland’s role is to grow the value of overseas tourism to the island of Ireland by marketing effectively across 13+ overseas markets. The organisation was looking for an agency with a track record of influencing audiences across languages and markets, while working effectively also with partners on the island of Ireland.

Grey London has extensive experience in developing global campaigns to influence and inspire consumers and audiences around the world and will support Tourism Ireland in marketing the island of Ireland as a compelling holiday destination to a global audience. In working with Tourism Ireland to create future campaigns, Grey will work closely with a range of suppliers and production partners on the ground around the island of Ireland. The agency currently works with Vodafone Ireland and has previously worked with Bank of Ireland.

Aidan Power, Tourism Ireland’s director of marketing, said, “We are delighted to announce the appointment of Grey London as our new creative agency and strategic partner. They have extensive experience in creating global campaigns and together, we look forward to creating impactful new advertising campaigns and creative content to inspire holidaymakers in our key overseas markets to choose the island of Ireland. Overseas tourism was worth €6.4 billion to the island of Ireland in 2023 and Tourism Ireland is targeting +5.6% y/y growth per annum on average to 2030, to support growth of the industry to over €9 billion per annum at that point. Inspiring holidaymakers and winning visitors and spend for the island of Ireland from other competing global destinations is critical and Grey London, working with Tourism Ireland, will play a key role in realising our ambition.”  

Conrad Persons, president of Grey London, commented, “We are thrilled to have the chance to collaborate with Tourism Ireland. The process was hugely competitive – with some of the best creative agencies in the world vying to market the greatest destination on earth. Tourism Ireland shares our immense creative ambition to do work that is both famous and effective. And alongside our own teams, we look forward to collaborating with thinkers, partners and creators around the island of Ireland – as we look to tell the story of Ireland and its tourism industry to a global audience.”

The appointment follows a statutory requirement to re-tender for this service every seven years. In March, Tourism Ireland initiated a publicly advertised competitive tender process for the provision of its strategic and creative services. Following a staged procedure, a final outcome was reached in September.