Tourism Ireland wrapped up a week-long sales blitz across Houston, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle on 25 February 2026, accompanied by 14 Irish hotels, attractions and DMCs, plus four U.S. tour-operator partners. The delegation held more than 600 one-to-one appointments with American travel advisors, pitching new luxury-rail itineraries, extended shoulder-season air links and conference packages aimed at the tech and life-science sectors clustered on the West Coast. Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Executive Vice-President for North America, said the mission “puts green carpets on the ground in high-value source markets” just as Aer Lingus and United finalise summer schedules from 23 U.S. gateways.
![Tourism Ireland completes four-city U.S. sales mission to lock in 2026 group travel]()
VisaHQ can streamline that onward planning: its portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) lets travellers and advisors instantly verify visa or ETA requirements for Ireland, the UK and dozens of onward destinations, submit applications online and track approvals—useful tools for groups juggling congress deadlines or dual-centre vacations.
Current forecasts point to a record 2.3 million U.S. arrivals in 2026, up 7 % on the pre-pandemic peak. For Irish hoteliers the timing is strategic: contracting for 2026 group series normally closes by April, and U.S. wholesalers have been demanding guaranteed rooms in Dublin and Killarney ahead of major congresses. At the same time, corporates are eyeing Ireland for small-meeting incentives that sidestep Schengen visa requirements for some delegates. Tour operators reported strong interest in dual-centre programmes that pair Ireland with the Icelandic volcano route or with a London stopover – provided travellers can navigate the UK ETA now in force. Tourism Ireland plans a follow-up virtual roadshow to convert leads into confirmed packages before summer.
VisaHQ can streamline that onward planning: its portal (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) lets travellers and advisors instantly verify visa or ETA requirements for Ireland, the UK and dozens of onward destinations, submit applications online and track approvals—useful tools for groups juggling congress deadlines or dual-centre vacations.
Current forecasts point to a record 2.3 million U.S. arrivals in 2026, up 7 % on the pre-pandemic peak. For Irish hoteliers the timing is strategic: contracting for 2026 group series normally closes by April, and U.S. wholesalers have been demanding guaranteed rooms in Dublin and Killarney ahead of major congresses. At the same time, corporates are eyeing Ireland for small-meeting incentives that sidestep Schengen visa requirements for some delegates. Tour operators reported strong interest in dual-centre programmes that pair Ireland with the Icelandic volcano route or with a London stopover – provided travellers can navigate the UK ETA now in force. Tourism Ireland plans a follow-up virtual roadshow to convert leads into confirmed packages before summer.
