A group of classic car enthusiasts from France has been enjoying a week-long touring holiday around Ireland and recently visited County Roscommon.
Picture Credit: Tourism Ireland
They’ve been travelling from east to west and back again, incorporating some of our tourism ‘hotspots’.
Supported by Tourism Ireland and Irish Ferries, the annual ‘Celtic Classic Rally 2016’ came to Ireland for the first time ever and was organised by the TTP (Tout Terrain Promotion) Association. It saw some 140 classic car enthusiasts and owners undertake the extensive driving tour around Ireland, covering more than 1,600km in 62 classic cars which included Triumphs, Mercedes, Jaguars and Porsches.
On their journey from Dublin to the West of Ireland, the 140-strong group stopped in Roscommon and enjoyed dinner and an overnight stay at Kilronan Castle in Ballyfarnon.
Elmagh Killeen, Tourism Ireland’s Manager for Southern Europe, said: “We are delighted to welcome the Celtic Classic Rally 2016 to Ireland and we wish them a really successful and enjoyable tour, which will be a really great way for them to discover Ireland. Given that car touring visitors tend to stay longer, spend more and are more likely to visit more than one region, Tourism Ireland is actively promoting car touring and longer-stay holidays in France.”
France is one of our top four tourism markets and 2015 was the third consecutive record-breaking year for French visitors to Ireland, delivering about 505,000 visitors (+11% growth on 2014).