Speaking about today’s announcement by Air Canada Rouge Minister Ross said: “I very much welcome today’s announcement by Air Canada Rouge on new routes, increased frequency on a number of existing routes and also the introduction of a new Summer Season schedule between Montreal and Dublin for 2018.

Minister Ross further commented: “This announcement continues to build on strong growth over the past few years, with 2016 seeing a record number of visitors from Canada to Ireland. Canada is one of our top ten markets for tourism. Canadian visitors tend to stay longer than the average visitor, spend more and travel throughout the regions of Ireland. 2017 is set to be another very positive year for tourism to Ireland as we build on last year’s record.  Early indications suggest that business from North America is powering ahead right now, up +17.4% for January-July 2017. Increased connectivity has been an important factor and has assisted Tourism Ireland in their marketing efforts in Canada which highlights holiday experiences like the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East and Dublin’s – ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’. The new services are of course very welcome news for the large communities of Irish based in Canada and the wider region as well as Canadians living in Ireland.”  

Today’s announcement is an important development in the transatlantic aviation market and will contribute further to the growth currently being experienced by Irish airports. It demonstrates the continued demand for transatlantic services from Shannon Airport and represents a further boost to tourism and connectivity for the West and Mid-West Region of Ireland.

The announcement represents a major enhancement in air connectivity between Canada and Ireland building on the significant expansion of recent years. Decisions such as these reflect the strong performance of the existing Air Canada routes, underpinned by a 56% growth in Canadian tourism to Ireland in the last three years.

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