The Gathering effect? Numbers traveling to Ireland from United States soar

I also agree with lafayquinn - i travelled home for Christmas during that period referred to and it had nothing to do with the Gathering. I live in Washington DC and it hasnt been mentioned anywhere around DC or on any of our local channels. Neither is anyone I talk to aware of it - i'm always meeting people who say they'd love to travel to Ireland and I encourage them (somewhat sheepishly knowing how expensive things are back home) to travel this year because there is somewhat of a guarantee they will hit some kind of festival or music session around the country. I do so hesitatingly because i worry the expense of it will put people off - even my flights alone are now 4 times what they were 4 years ago - it used to be i could get an "out of peak" flight for $449 return from Shannon to DC (via New York). This past 2 years i've barely managed to get the same flight for under $899 - you are NOT going to get people to travel if you don't work out a deal with the airlines to put the prices back to levels we know they can afford and stop fleecing regular customers (like me) who travel to see family 2/3 times a year if we can (including funeral trips which i aslo had to make this January). They can promote the Gathering all they want but its not getting coverage locally around the USA and its relying heavily on those of us aware of it to promote it, which we do reluctantly because its too expensive a trip!!!

I agree with Smyrnian - I am usually back in Ireland every quarter and find everytime its got more expensive. I like to pay for groceries for my sisters family given i'm staying with her most of the time and notice the costs compared to the USA. No wonder I can't consider moving back to Ireland - its cheaper to live in the USA!!

I go back every 6 months or so but I do find the place incredibly expensive. It's killing tourism.

It's hoped that when they gather together they invest in those ghost estates we hear so much about.

I second lafayquinn's thoughts, I too traveled to Ireland during that time period, but it had nothing to do with The Gathering which I also knew nothing about. Aside from this website and a mention in USA Today, I haven't seen any advertisements for it at all...where are they pushing it? And how come there's been no mention here about the new Ireland dot com website? It was created by a British firm and quite frankly, it's not so good. Not very user friendly, too many photo-shopped photos, and just, I don't know, doesn't really highlight the magic and wonder of Ireland, which is what the tourism board itself doesn't seem to grasp, either. It's too bad, really, they're sitting on a pot of gold, yet they don't see it. With the push for packages and bus tours, it really does come off as a "cash grab" kind of place, and it's not. Perception is everything. Managinnty, I feel your pain.

Thesee are pumped up figures. The people are embarrassed about this so called gathering, making us feel we should be out with our begging bowls and a smile. Most are angry because sons and daughters that had to leave looking for work cannot afford to come home.

count me out - Beowolf stricken NIR-UKer wuzzey.

I traveled to Ireland in that time period from North America, but it had nothing to do with advertisements for The Gathering. I don't think I saw anything about The Gathering until I got home. I actually don't think its been effectively advertised in the USA. I saw maybe one commercial.