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| Courtesy Tourism Toronto |
Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) has welcomed Air Canada’s decision to launch a new year-round service between Dublin and Toronto’s Pearson Airport from May 2014.
Air Canada, which has operated a summer service between Dublin and Toronto for since 2002, will operate the Dublin-Toronto route this summer between 17th May and 30th September and will begin year-round operations under the Air Canada rouge from 1st May 2014.
DAA Strategy Director Vincent Harrison said “Air Canada’s decision to operate a year-round service to Dublin from next May is excellent news for both business and leisure travellers and underscores the strong links between Ireland and Canada. Ireland is the fifth largest recipient of Canadian investment, and there are strong historical and cultural connections between the two countries. This is the culmination of much hard work as we have been working to secure a year-round Canadian service for several years.”
Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland said “The announcement of a year-round service from Toronto to Dublin is wonderful news for tourism to the island of Ireland from Canada. We have worked with Air Canada for many years and we look forward to working closely with Air Canada rouge to maximise the promotion of this flight. As an island, direct, convenient and competitive access services are critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism. Tourism Ireland is committed to working with Air Canada rouge, Dublin Airport and other tourism interests, through co-operative marketing, to drive demand for this service.”
The transatlantic market at Dublin Airport increased by 5% last year as 1.6 million people flew between Dublin and North America. All of the airlines serving Canada and the United States from Dublin are also adding extra capacity this summer. The number of seats on North American routes is up 17% this summer, which is equivalent to 200,000 extra seats.
In March 2011 Ireland Canada Business Association (ICBA) published a business case for Air Canada for direct flight .A key fact from their research indicated that over a third of respondents would triple the number of return trips they currently take to Canada if direct access was available all year round.
Ireland and Canada:
- Ireland and Canada’s total two way trade relationship is in excess of $2.5 billion.
- Canada receives almost 25% of Ireland’s foreign direct investment abroad. At present, 220 Irish companies export to Canada and 45 Irish companies employ 5,500 people throughout Canada.
- Ireland is the fourth largest recipient of foreign direct investment from Canada. Some 80 Canadian companies have operations in Ireland.
- Sales in the Canadian market by Irish-owned SMEs have trebled in the past five years in excess of €100m in 2010, representing year-on-year growth of over 20%.
- With more than 4 million Canadians claiming ancestral links or affiliations with the island of Ireland, Canada is an important market for tourism.
Irish Aviation Research Institute © 23rd April 2013 All Rights Reserved.
