Tourism campaign selling Ireland as 'home of Halloween' generates €50 million

Ottoline Spearman

A tourism campaign selling Ireland as the "home of Halloween" has generated an additional €50 million in visitor spending.

Tourism Ireland ran a campaign in key overseas markets highlighting how Halloween originated in Ireland in Celtic culture over two centuries ago.

Halloween began in pagan Ireland, when the ancient festival of Samhain was celebrated in the heart of Ireland’s Ancient East to mark the beginning of winter.

It was believed to be a time when the "veil" between the living and the spirit world was thinnest, allowing spirits onto the earth. Ancient Celts lit bonfires, wore costumes to ward off evil spirits, and left out food to appease them.

The festival of Samhain has now become modern-day Halloween. The word Halloween derives from All Hallows' Eve, the day before All Hallows' Day, a Christian festival to honour saints and martyrs.

During the Tourism Ireland campaign, various Halloween festivals were promoted, including Halloween in Derry, the Púca Festival in Meath, the Macnas Halloween Parade in Galway, the Bram Stoker Festival in Dublin and the Fire and Shadows Processions in counties Longford and Limerick.

The campaign also promoted Halloween in 12 countries overseas, including Great Britain, the United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordics, Austria and Switzerland.

50 international media and content creators, with a reach of over 100 million, were invited to the Púca Festival and Derry Halloween, including travel broadcaster Gabe Saglie, who will broadcast from both events across the United States on various US networks.

In 2024, overseas visitor spend grew by over 9 per cent on the previous year, bringing €6.9 billion to Ireland.