TravTalk Middle East Online Magazine
With a record number of agents attending from all across GCC, the second in a series of two webinars to showcase the luxury destination of Ireland was held last month. There were five speakers who participated along with Siobhan Naughton, Marketing and Trade Executive, Tourism Ireland.
Shehara Rizly
The webinar was kicked off by Siobhan Naughton, Marketing and Trade Executive, Tourism Ireland, who shared an overview about the destination, the flight access and the latest updates about the COVID-centric practices and safety charters which still include the quarantine period of 14 days. She mentioned about the British Irish Visa Scheme, the visa requirements for other GCC countries and shared that they were very busy preparing for visitors to travel to Ireland soon.
She then opened the floor for industry speakers starting off with Siobhan Byrne Learat, Founder & CEO, Adams and Butler. She gave an in-depth presentation on the various programmes and itineraries that can be tailormade for the guests. She shared that they remit part of the commission to the agents that book the clients especially at this period of time so that it will help both parties to continue in their business. She mentioned that Ireland is known as an ‘island of horses’ and as a DMC they do prepare itineraries to accommodate the requests of the clients. She stated that especially travellers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prefer to self-drive and discover the destination, hence this is the ideal destination. She gave a detailed description of all the different possibilities to visit the destination, various different accommodation facilities from hotels, to boutique hotels, castles etc., how they can even arrange for an Earl or Lord to have tea with the guests; and all the different experiences one can enjoy in this destination and the way they can help the agents.
Avril Collins, Marketing Manager of Ireland’s Blue Book which includes a romantic collection of over 50 Irish Country House Hotels, Manor Houses, Castles and Restaurants shared many interesting details about the different properties under their belt. From five-star elegant properties to Michelin star restaurants that can really add a lot more to the itinerary of the discerning traveller, she gave an update about the stunning properties in Ireland.
The next in line was Victoria Loy, Business and Leisure Markets Manager, Titanic Belfast. The historical voyage is one of the most looked forward to experiences by people from across the world. The largest ship has so many stories that have been made into several movies. Loy walked the audience through each one of the galleries and explained in detail what each experience entails. There were nine main galleries where one could actually take a trip at the port of call many eons ago. Apart from the guided discovery tour in the Titanic, they also have another attraction – the SS Nomadic which also has a story to be unraveled.
Joe Shannon, CEO, G Golf Ireland took us on a very exciting golfing trip for VIPs. He shared that they have large number of golf courses – almost 400 for a population of 5 million people and 11 of the courses are among the top 100 golf courses in the world list. He mentioned the tailormade services offered by them for the golf enthusiasts and how they can really enjoy and play in any of the courses that they prefer. He mentioned that all procedures are being taken to welcome international tourists next year and they are hopeful 2021 will be a much better year. It is an authentic Irish elite golf experience that one can truly experience if they are golf enthusiasts but even if they are not, they can tailor make an experience that would make the non-golfer too enjoy during their stay.
