Niamh O'Shea of the Killarney Park Hotel
Paula Carroll reps the Ashford Castle Hotel & Country Estate
Wallace Travel Group's Derek Wallace
The Wild Atlantic Way is Ireland's newest attraction
If buckets of rain are any indication, Mother Nature seems determined to green up Toronto. But for those of us in the travel industry, the green comes when the Irish come out in full force to spread the message of what’s new in the Emerald Isle.
Our hostess for the evening was Dallyce Macas, Canadian Regional Director of the Platinum DMC which reps many of the world’s leading destination management companies. Co-hosting with her were a group of genial Irish folks (as if there were any other kind).
A big new fan of Ireland is WestJet’s Stephen Goulding, National Manager of Commercial Accounts & Agency Sales. “Within the 1st weekend of putting out our new Dublin flights [YYZ-YYT-DUB], we sold 35% of our total capacity for the season. Right out of the gate it sold like hotcakes. Crazy!”
As the Irish Tourist Board’s Jayne Shackleford put it, “There clearly is an untapped demand - and with the increased lift, we are so accessible now. The average Canadian stays 10 to 12 days and 40% rent a car so they can get off the beaten path.”
Also promoting his services was Derek Wallace of the Wallace Travel Group, one of Platinum’s clients. The inbound group tour specialist operator can accommodate groups numbering from 10 (“Such as a President’s incentive group that we could accommodated in a small castle”) to 1,200 – though their average group is 40 to 50 passengers. Wallace has arranged itineraries for special interest groups, photographers, alumni or any tailor-made group you can think of. “Even a little bit quirky!”
Golf clients may be interested in Niamh O’Shea’s Killarney Park Hotel in County Kerry in southeastern Ireland. The 5 star, 70 room hotel is within driving distance of 5 of the world’s top 10 links-style courses. It sounds like a lovely spot, with their tagline, “The warmth behind the smile”, welcoming staff (8 of whom have been with the hotel since it opened 22 years ago), and – surely unusual in any country – an all-female management.
And it’s hard to beat the enthusiasm of Paula Carroll of Ashford Castle, which dates back to 1228 and has been operating as a hotel since 1939. Once the Guinness family home, Ashford features just 30 rooms and 10 months ago became a part of the prestigious Red Carnation hotel group. “We like to say no request is too big and no detail is too small – which is why we regularly host Hollywood A-listers.”
Oooh! Yet another reason to visit Ireland!
