In some ways, the agreement to market the island as a single entity is an example of the kind of compromise that has been absent on the political front. Bord Failte, the Irish tourist board, already having the lion's share of the trade, allowed a smaller group in, while the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, with a much larger government backing it, was willing to lose some of its autonomy for the good of the team approach. The ads, which began running in US television markets, including Boston, on Jan. 20, will run through mid-April, a period when many Americans plan spring, summer and fall trips to Ireland. May. The TV ads are set to the background of a song by the Cranberries, the Irish pop band whose lead singer, Dolores Dolores O'Riordan, has a voice that is both modern and hauntingly ancient. It is fitting that the Irish tourism industry is leading the way.
Tourism is Ireland's biggest generator of wealth and is growing.
Tourism accounts for more than 100,000 jobs, or about 1 of every 12 jobs in Ireland. Tourists, meanwhile, continued to flock to the Irish Republic. But rather than bask in complacency, the two tourist boards have plunged into the future. Gone are the images of thatch cottages and donkeys and old men in caps whose weathered faces tell stories. Those images can still be had in Ireland, but the new strategy for luring tourists to one of the most beautiful islands on Earth emphasizes the reality of Ireland, north and south, being a modern outpost of western Europe, with all the charm Ireland is known for, and all the conveniences of any modern democracy.