Tilton, NH - On January 21-26, representing both the Lakes Region Association and White Mountain Attractions, Amy Landers flew to Dublin Ireland as part of a tourism sales mission organized by the New Hampshire Division of Travel and Tourism Development (NHDTTD). This mission included 10 meetings with tour operators, including Topflight Ski and Chase International, to encourage group travel to New Hampshire; nine media representatives including the Irish Travel Trade News and Irish Times, to promote future articles about New Hampshire and New England; and a presence in the NH Tourism & NH Ski Group booth at the Dublin Holiday World Show, a consumer show that annually attracts approximately 55,000 seasoned travelers.

"About 70% of the people I spoke with had never been to New Hampshire and knew little about the state as a vacation destination," said Landers, Executive Director of the Lakes Region Association. "People were very happy to listen to what the Lakes and Mountains had to offer and afterwards many expressed a definite interest in visiting.  Summer's warm weather garnered the most curiosity, followed by fall and then winter activities."

With an average of 5 weeks of vacation time, the Irish love to travel and often tend to journey out of country for longer stays. Favorable exchange rates and the availability of discounted airline rates make New Hampshire's lakes and mountains a prime destination choice. Attendees to Dublin Holiday World Show are generally prepared to book their holidays on the spot. Many who stopped by the NH Tourism & NH Ski Group booth were parents of students who had traveled to New Hampshire to ski. Additional interests included tax-free shopping, fall foliage and ancestral heritage and with the younger crowd, honeymooning and skiing.

As part of an ongoing effort to expand international group travel to the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, The Lakes Region Association had representation recently at several international consumer and trade shows including the Manchester Holiday and Travel Show in Manchester England, the Maritime Travel Vacation Show in Halifax, Icelandair's Mid Atlantic Seminar, and at Showcase USA in Verona Italy.

Established in 1936, the Lakes Region Association's mission is to promote the Lakes Region of New Hampshire as a year-round destination to bring more visitors to the area and economically benefit our member's businesses. The Association is a non-profit organization focusing solely on Tourism Marketing & Promotion. To assist our region's guests and member businesses to connect, the association develops and distributes nearly 1 million publications including 300,000 Where to! Lakes Region of New Hampshire, a comprehensive guide to the area, and 600,000 Lakes Region Map and Guide. The Lakes Region Association also maintains several supporting websites including ones for group travelers, travel writers, Yuletide Magic holiday travel, and historical walking tours in addition to their primary tourism information site www.LakesRegion.org for up to the minute happenings, property and entertainment listings, vacation travel incentives, photo tours and so much more. For information on obtaining your copy of our Map & Guidebook or making the Lakes Region Association your marketing arm to effectively reach local, domestic and international markets, contact our expert staff at 603-286-8008.