Tourism Ireland Launches Social Game on Facebook

Tourism Ireland Launches Social Game on Facebook

LONDON, March 17, 2011/PRNewswire/ --

    - Tourism Ireland Today Announced the Launch of an Online Game, Which
Will go Live on Facebook on St Patrick's Day, 17th March 2011

    - Called Ireland Town http://www.facebook.com/irelandtown the Game Brings
the Holiday Experience in Ireland to Life for Facebook Fans Across the World

    - Competition to win an Amazing 4-night Adventure in the West of Ireland,
Alongside Prizes Including an Orla Kiely bag, Artisan Food Hampers, or a box
of the Finest Irish Crisps, Taytos!

    Social Games

    Tourism Ireland is the first national tourism board in the world to
launch a social game. It taps into the huge popularity of games like
FarmVille and CityVille - 24% of all people on the internet in the US and GB
play social games at least once a week. Ireland Town will sit on Tourism
Ireland's Facebook pages and will link through from
http://www.discoverireland.com/gb/?WT.mc_id=gb_pr_170311_irelandtown_release_
link1

    (Due to the length of this URL, it may be necessary to copy and paste
this hyperlink into your Internet browser's URL address field. Remove the
space if one exists.)

     (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20110317/443578 )

    Mark Henry, Tourism Ireland's Central Marketing Director, said: "This is
a new platform for Tourism Ireland to engage potential holidaymakers around
the world with the kind of experience that a holiday in Ireland offers them.
It is a unique promotional tool and a first, as no other national tourist
board had done this before. For those fans who may be planning to visit in
2011, this is certainly a different way to research their holiday."

    Get involved

    In Ireland Town, Facebook fans are invited to create their own idyllic
town in Ireland, with the help of 'tour guide' Sally. They can then explore
iconic sites and visitor attractions around the island, completing various
challenges in order to progress to the next level of the game; these
challenges reflect the huge variety of things to see and do on a holiday in
Ireland. There are 32 destinations and nine different tasks to be completed
during each challenge.

    Free competition

    Fans can progress faster through the game if they sign up their Facebook
friends to also join in. For the fans who make it through all of the tasks,
there is the chance to win a 'real world' prize of a holiday to Ireland.

    Facebook fans

    With the incredible viral effect of social games, it is expected that up
to 100,000 Facebook fans will sign up to play Ireland Town over the coming
weeks. Mark Henry continued: "Given that Tourism Ireland currently has a
fanbase of a quarter of a million people around the globe, and each of the
fans has in turn an average of 130 friends, Tourism Ireland can potentially
engage with 32.5 million people worldwide through our new Ireland Town game."

    For more information on Ireland, visit
http://www.discoverirelandmedia.com

    For further information on Tourism Ireland, contact
tourismireland@consolidatedpr.com or +44(0)20-7781-2300

Photo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20110317/443578

Source: Tourism Ireland

For further information on Tourism Ireland, contact tourismireland@consolidatedpr.com or +44(0)20-7781-2300