Phil Ervine, Taste & Tour NI; Sarka Babicka, Cook your Dream; Jalila Chiquet, France Dimanche; and Kathyrn Burrington, Travel With Kat at St George’s Market, Belfast.

500,000 GB and French holidaymakers to read all about Northern Ireland.

A top French travel writer and food bloggers from GB visited Northern Ireland recently as guests of Tourism Ireland and Tourism NI. They were attended a special Northern Ireland Year of Food and Drink 2016 celebration banquet at the Ulster Museum. They also had the chance to experience our magnificent scenery and some of our leading visitor attractions.

The GB bloggers (Travel With Kat and Cook Your Dream) have a combined 200,000+ followers and the French magazine (France Dimanche) has more than 300,000 readers. Their itinerary included a trip along the Causeway Coastal Route, with stops at some Game of Thrones locations. They also spent time in Belfast, taking in a visit to St George’s Market, as well as lunch at OX and a local gin tasting at the Bullitt Hotel.

Throughout 2016, Tourism Ireland undertook a packed programme of activity to highlight Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink around the world, working closely with Tourism NI, Food NI and other partners. Tourism Ireland invited people everywhere to come and discover the very best of local produce – and to experience the wonderful landscapes and coastline which make Northern Ireland so special.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “We were delighted to invite these bloggers and journalists to visit Northern Ireland, to experience for themselves our superb culinary offering and the wonderful scenery here. Publicity is an important element of our overall promotional programme, helping to raise awareness – through both social and traditional media – of the many things to see and do on a holiday in Northern Ireland.”