Jonathan Sargeant, Sales manager, Royal Irish Tours, & Orla Kileen, Sales Executive, Royal Irish Tours
Canadian travel advisors set off on a virtual FAM in Northern Ireland as Royal Irish Tours & Northern Ireland Tourism took them on a journey through some of the region's most spectacular attractions, just in time for St. Patrick's Day.
The virtual tour, hosted on 15MAR, was led by Royal Irish Tours' Jonathan Sargeant, Sales Manager and Orla Killeen, Sales Executive.
Prior to the start of the tour, Sandra Moffat, Canadian Manager, Tourism Ireland, showed her optimism for the return of Canadian tourism in Ireland saying, “I wanted to thank you for all of your hard work, partnership, and support for all things Ireland over the past 12 months. We know it’s been a difficult time in our industry but we see your energy, enthusiasm, and positivity every single day and we want to let you know that we are here to work with you to help recover and get Canadians travelling again once the time to do so is right.”
The virtual trip departed with a send-off speech from Ian Duffy, President & Founder, Royal Irish Tours, “The last year has been a very difficult one for us all, but we are a very strong industry and I’m confident with the current vaccine rollout both here in Canada and in Ireland we will all get to travel soon. I would like to thank you all for your continued support and I look forward to working with you all again.” Following his statement, Duffy showed his Irish pride by sipping a Guinness beer in honour of Saint Patrick’s Day.
The trip itinerary took advisors throughout Northern Ireland with many stops including Armagh City, Giant’s Causeway, and the world-renown cities Belfast and Derry. The group also stopped at Tracey’s Farmhouse Kitchen where they got to first-hand watch a tutorial on how signature Irish breads are made.
The city of Belfast has much to see including the famous Titanic Belfast exhibit which has been redesigned to abide by Covid-19 protocols. At the exhibit, travellers will be able to visit nine different galleries that depict the story of the Titanic, focusing on how the ship was built in Belfast, to life on-board, to the devastating end of the ship's journey. In Belfast, travellers can also partake in other activities including having a relaxing day at Culloden Estate & Spa, visiting Queen's University Belfast, and more.
After Belfast, participants visited Derry and talked to Karen Henderson, Sales & Marketing Manager, Visit Derry, about the many sights and activities the city has to offer such as a walking tour of the historic walls or a visit to the Peace Bridge. “This is a city that is rich in history, culture, and tradition. In fact, it was listed by UNESCO as the world’s 1001 historical sites you must see before you die," said Henderson.
Knowing that many travellers are on tight schedules, Henderson touched upon different day tours that the city offers. Henderson also took participants to a few of the many restaurants in the city and spoke about the cities popular Halloween extravaganza ‘Derry Halloween’.
The event ended with a Q&A with Canadian advisors attending the event and a grand prize giveaway of a trip to Northern Ireland.
