Tourism Ireland Launches Social Game on Facebook

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

LONDON, March 17, 2011 - 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
www.discoverireland.com/gb/?WT.mc_id=gb_pr_170311_irelandtown_release_link1

(Logo: 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
www.discoverirelandmedia.com

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

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