VISITORS ADVISED TO BOOK FOR IRISH OPEN
WITH this year’s Irish Open Golf Championship at Royal Portrush set to be one of the biggest in the competition’s history NITB Chief Executive Alan Clarke has reminded visitors to book their tickets now to avoid potential disappointment.
With Ireland’s most prestigious golf tournament still four weeks away the European Tour recently announced that Saturday and Sunday are already almost sold out while ticket sales for the Thursday and Friday aren’t far behind with close to 20,000 tickets sold per day.
A crowd of 100,000 is expected over the four days of the event, from Thursday, June 28 – Sunday, July 1.
“Tickets have been selling faster this year than for many years which is no surprise given the success of our world famous golfing superstars and the fact that the Irish Open is returning to Northern Ireland for the first time in sixty years,” said Clarke.
“With this in mind, I would urge golf fans not to risk turning up on the day and expecting a ticket as they will most likely be disappointed, particularly at the weekend.
For more information on accommodation offers for the Irish Open as well as details on all of Northern Ireland’s golf courses and other ni 2012 events, check out the Northern Ireland Tourist Board’s free advice and booking service and callsave 1850 230 230, visit the Tourist Information Centre in Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 or click on www.discovernorthernireland.com or www.ni2012.com
Advance day tickets for the Irish Open are available for £30, a saving of £5 on the gate price, with four day season tickets priced at £70, a saving of £10. Advance concession day and season tickets are priced at £20 and £50 respectively. Hospitality packages are sold out for the first two days, but are still available on Saturday and Sunday.
Whilst visiting the Irish open why not enjoy some of the other world class events taking place throughout June and July including the Land of Giants Festival on June 30 and the Clipper Homecoming Maritime Festival from June 29 – July 8.
To provide a glimpse of what people can expect to see, NITB has outlined two of the key summer events in 2012:
Land of Giants: Titanic Slipways, Belfast, June 30, 2012 (10.30pm)
Land of Giants, the largest outdoor theatre and arts event ever staged in Northern Ireland, will present a unique tale to an audience of 18,000 on Belfast’s latest events space, the Titanic Slipways. The event is inspired by local iconic giants – Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver, Finn McCool, Harland and Wolff’s Samson and Goliath and the Olympic and Titanic ships– as well as Northern Ireland people who are giants in ideas, talent, industry and heritage.
Clipper Homecoming Maritime Festival: Derry, June 29 – July 8, 2012
As a flagship event in NI 2012, the Clipper Race Homecoming Festival will welcome a ten-strong fleet of 68-foot yachts to the Foyle, as part of the final transatlantic leg of the world’s longest ocean race. As well as a programme of events on the arrival weekend, the following weekend will boast a four-day maritime festival to celebrate the final leg of the world’s longest race and congratulate the winners.
