Travel extra july 5megs

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R U O

THAILAND NUMBERS UP AGAIN Y RYANAIR THE BILLION EURO AIRLINE AUSTRALIA MORE ONE STOP OPTIONS

e d a r T

The Canary Island Guide

Willie is chair of IATA

Fraser Island

ER P PA

IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION

Free

July/August 2016

Canaries issue What your clients should know about wintersun 2016

VOLUME 20 NUMBER 7

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Seriously Iberia

25pc more Irish went to Spain and Portugal this spring

reland is the fastest grwoing market to both Spain and Portugal in 2016.

Figures for the first months of the year put Ireland in the lead from among the major tourism source markets to both countries.

International travel to Spain grew 13pc in January-April and Ireland is the fastest growing major inbound market of all, up 25.6pc on 2015 for those four months and just ahead of Netherlands with 25.5pc.

The monthly total for April was up 9,6pc to 124.240 and the accumlated total was 375.168.

Visitor numbers to Portugal were up 41.8pc in January and overnights up 25.9pc with Algarve visitors up 45.2pc and overnights up 35.6pc.

The Irish market is now the fifth largest to the Algarve, with visitors up 8.6pc to 185,400 in 2015 and overnights up 4.7pc to 1,000,500.

Visitor numbers from Ireland to Portugal in 2015 were up 9.2pc to 255,500 and overnights up 5.6pc to

ETHIOPIA Addis Adaba is a

direct flight year from Ethiopian Airlines, with short connections to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganada and other safari and beach centres

NEWS

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Minister

for Foreign affairs Charlie Flanagan launched a new smartphone app from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to provide Irish travellers with updated travel advice and consular information. The app, Travelwise, is free to download. Travellers can favourite countries they are travelling to and will receive push notifications of any significant security updates. Other information can be downloaded for use offline.

AIRBNB announced a tool for business

travel managers to book listings for employees.

The facility will allow coworkers to book Airbnb stays for each other. but will not be available to travel agents, external travel managers, or travel management companies

HEMINGWAY Denyse Woods (aka Denyse Devlin) from Inniscarra, Co Cork, won the contest to write in Ernest Hemingway's Key West Studio from an entry of 2,100 in the Florida Keys Flash Fiction Contest. .

Playa Yaiza: More loungers for more tourists

225,300. Porto and Northern Portugal were up 25.3pc (overnights were up 21pc) and Central Portugal up 12.4pc.

Lisbon hosted 44,600 visitors and 138,300 nights stays.

Thanks to increased air capacity Madeira visitor numbers were up 120.9pc and overnights up 113.6pc.

Portugal’s overall visitor numbers were up 9.7pc and overnight stays up 7.3pc.

FLORIDA Aer LIngus have extended the Orlando season into winter giving Irish holiday makers more options than ever before. It is also a big one stop destinations.

head on LAX through the winter meaning great prices.

TEN WINTER DESTINATIONS

BARCELONA Lots of competition is good for the consumer, Ryanair has upped its presence in El Prat, a route already served by Aer Lingus and Vueling, with two other airports in the region also served by Ryanair.

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 3

LAS VEGAS Some high

value fare otpions form Viring Atlantic through Manchester have enticed irish people to the oasis of excess in beautiful desert scenery.

LOS ANGELES Aer

Lingus and Ethiopian are head to

MASSACHUSSETS officials posted warnings for bicycle riders throughout three popular state parks about “wire cable being maliciously strung” to snare cyclists.

GERMANY reported an 8.9pc increase for visitors from Ireland in the first three months of 2016. In 2015 Germany got 190,133 arrivals and 435,494 overnight stays from Ireland, camping included.

INDONESIA reported a surge in ar-

rivals from Ireland following the recent introduction of the visa free policy.

GREECE reports Irish visitors were up

4.5pc to 72,654 in 2015 from 69,532 in 2014

EU officials cautioned governments against

MOROCCO A favourite

banning Uber and Airbnb.

THAILAND One stop option from Dublin, usually through Abu Dhabi or Dubai. Will direct flgihts come soon? Oslo has daily flights as have other Scandinavian capitals.

MAJORCA Residents in Palma de Majorca have criticised a parking ban.

among Irish hiliday makers for two decades thanks to Sunway’s weekly charter programme to Agadir, Ryanair fly to marrakech as well.

SUMMER 2017 COLLECTION FREE CHILD PLACES AVAILABLE Online Call In store

Offer is subject to availability. Terms & Conditions apply.

TURKEY confirmed tourism was down

16pc in the first past four months of 2016 and the decline is accelerating., April was down 28pc to 1.75m. European tourism was down 18pc to 2.76m and Russian visits to Ankara down 68pc

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THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Advertising & Subscriptions 59 Rathfarnham Road Terenure Dublin D6WAK70 t+3531 2957418 Editorial Office Clownings Straffan Co Kildare W23 C6X9

Managing Editor: Gerry O’Hare gerry@travelextra.ie Editor: Eoghan Corry eoghan.corry@ travelextra.ie Publisher: Edmund Hourican edmund@bizex.ie Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie t: +3531 291 3700 Sales Manager Paulette Moran paulette@bizex.ie t: +353 (0)1 291 3702 Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnot maria@bizex.ie T: +3531 291 3707 Distribution Manager Shane Hourican shane@bizex.ie t: +3531 291 3706 Pictures: pix@travelextra.ie Sunday Supplement & Online: Conor McMahon conor@travelextra.ie Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie Contributors : Eanna Brophy Marie Carberry marie@travelextra.ie Siobhan Coakley Louise Coughlan Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan Sean Mannion Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com Cathy Wilson

Travel Extra takes no responsibility for errors and omissions.

Origination: Typeform

Printer: W&G Baird Limited Greystone Press Caulside Drive Antrim BT41 2RS

CONTENTS

www.travelextra.ie

3 News Where to go,h ow much to pay 6 Hotels: News 8 Postcards: News from the trade

W

12 Wintersun: The Canary islands 16 La Gomaer: Best kept secret 18 Harmony: The verdict 20 Afloat: A quantum leap 22-24 Flying: Airline and airport news

25 Global Village Inside the travel industry 27 Window seat: Our columnists 28 Pictures: Out and about

Tick-tock to wintersun sistency. The sun shines reliably for a good nine or more hours a day, with day-time temperatures reaching about 28C. Sea breezes and low humidity mean it rarely feels too hot. The sea remains at 26-27C throughout the winter.

inertsun holidays all vome with one central problem, where can you get guaranteed susnshin without flying a sector length that defeats the pit of a seven day break?

3.5 HOURS

Madeira: Guide price €1,500 half board. It is mild and sub-tropical year round. Average temperature Jan-Feb about 17C. New, familyoriented and childfriendly hotels are helping Madeira change its image as a destination aimed solely at the more mature traveller.

3.5 HOURS,

Morocco: Guide price

€800 B&B. Constant

winter sun is not guaranteed, Jan and Feb temperatures are about 17C. Agadir is a popular choice, the main reasons for its popularity include its year-round sunshine with just the occasional unpredictable rainy day, its wide sandy bay and the backdrop of the snow-capped Atlas mountains.

3.5 HOURS,

Tunisia: Guide price €800 B&B. Flight time 3 hours. Constant winter sun is not guaranteed: Jan and Feb temperatures are about 17C in the north, higher in the south near Jerba and the desert. Hammamet stretches nearly 10 miles around the bay. Port el Kantaoui is a compact purpose-built resort developed round a neat modern marina. Radiating out from here are a succession of ever more grandiose hotels that

Si Kao Resort & Spa, Thailand

have gradually mushroomed along the sandy coastline.

4.5 HOURS,

Canaries: Guide price

€1,000 half board. Im-

mensely popular because of the high standards through the resorts. Expect about half-a-dozen rainy days each month, seven hours of sun per day and temperatures reaching 22C-23C. Don't expect the sea to be more than 20C, however, and check that your accommodation has a heated pool. There are escapes to the north of Tenerife and some spectacular walks in Gran Canaria for those who tire of resort life.

4.5 HOURS,, Cyprus Guide price

€800 B&B. Cyprus has

the most reliable winter climate in the Mediterranean and stays warm much later in the year,

the average sea temperature is still 19C at this time of year. Rain is recorded on about 10 days a month), but temperatures normally top 17C and the earlier in the autumn or later in the spring you go, the warmer it is.

5 HOURS,, Egypt. Guide price €1,000. December days are reliably warm with virtually unbroken sunshine, average peaks in Sharm el Sheikh on the Red sea or Luxor on the Nile are around 25C, with 10 hours of sunshine a day, very low humidity and virtually no rain. Aswan, farther up the Nile, has a similar climate, although fewer sites and a much smaller choice of hotels. Spending more on a top-rank hotel will mean better food, and a better pool.

7 HOURS,, Dubai: Guide price €1,400 room only.

Dubai is fast becoming the new Caribbean,.

Beaches are superb, sun is almost guaranteed, super-sleek hotels are opening. Shopping is not as good value as it as but other ztivities include golf and desert safaris, 9 HOURS,,

Caribbean. Guide price (Barbados): €2,400 allinclusive. The Caribbean winter climate can vary according to the location of each island, but even on the wetter ones, such as St Lucia and Tobago, February is one of the driest months of the year. And when it does rain, it is most likely to fall as a heavy shower towards the end of the afternoon, rather than ruin the entire day. The main attraction of the winter climate is its con-

9 HOURS, Florida: Guide price €1,400 room only.

Theme parks, beaches and keen prices make Florida a favourite winter-sun standby for Irish visitors. Aer Lingus’s Orlando flight runs through the Christmas season this year. By March the American visitors have gone and the weather is still very comfortable. Average maximum temperatures are up to 27C, with nine hours of sun, and only seven rainy days in the month. Evenings can get cool, but the average sea temperature doesn't drop below 23C. The Gulf coast is more sheltered and warmer than the Atlantic side.

11 HOURS Thai-

land: Guide price €1.400 room only (Phuket) Flight time 11-13 hours (to Bangkok one stop via Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

The Thai maritime climate is not as consistent as Goa's, but it will be hot, 30C or more, and there will be a good nine hours of sunshine a day.

The biggest problem is the wind, the north-easterly monsoon wind blows through the winter. This affects east coast resorts such as Koh Samui. Phuket is more sheltered and drier. The sea is 27C-29C.

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Anita Customer Service Agent

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HOTELS

BURJ Al Arab opened a 10,000 sqm outdoor terrace stretching 100 metres out into the sea with a 612 sqm freshwater pool and an 828 sqm saltwater pool.

RYANAIR ROOMS set a dead-

line and terms for October 1 launch of Ryanair Rooms, declaring it will be a new style accommodation product to include homesteads as well as hotels. A Ryanair holidays product is still 18 months off, according to Kenny Jacobs..

BRANDS A statistic from TTM Plus in Chiang Mai: 1,383 new hotel brands have launched in the last ten years.

RITZ The iconic Ritz Paris reopened on Monday.

RHATIGAN Group, owners of the four

star Radisson BLU Royal Hotel Golden Lane submitted planning permission for an extension of eight storeys over two basement floors that will bring the hotel’s room count to 255, up by Militant attacks have a bigger impact on occupancy than yield 100 rooms.

CORINTHIA Hotels will open a 300room beachside resort in Dubai in 2019s located on the site of the former Meydan Beach Club.

ADARE MANOR JP McManus’s Adare Manor hopes to host the Ryder Cup within 10 years.

3-month bounce

O

STR analyses impact of bombs on Europe’s hotels

n average, European hotel in April in comparison with the same dropped 19.6pc to 57.7pc for the enmarkets get back to normal month the previous year. May and tire month, a sharp decline from the RANELAGH The planning board approximately three months were down 7.2pc and 7.5pc, respec- market’s average March occupancy greenlit a 41-bedroom McKillen hotel in following a militant attack, according tively. The rate of decline was less de- level of 68.7pc (based on historic data Ranelagh. spanning 2000 to 2015). In contrast to data and analysis from STR pleted n July at 5.5pc.

ADR remained positive (+1.1pc to ADR trended in the opposite direcIMPERIAL Hotel in Cork celebrated Global. € 121.65) and in line with historic levtion with a 7.4pc decrease in April STR analysis of the four most reits 200th birthday. cent instances in which a major Euro- followed by an average decrease of els.

CLIFFS of Moher Hotel in Liscannor has pean market was attacked by 13.5pc over the following three STR’s daily data showed that on reopened with Mark Cronin as GM. March 28, the Monday after Easter, militants, the 2004 train bombings in months.

The three-month recovery pattern Brussels experienced its lowest abMadrid, London, Paris, and Brussels, An ABC news study of 15 US WATER found that the incidents had a greater for occupancy was repeated in Paris solute occupancy level (-72.6pc to hotels found 11 failed to sanitise the water impact on occupancy levels than on following the November 2015 at- 19.5pc) of any day following the atglasses before new guests arrived. tacks. After three months of decreases tack. ADR for the day was down ADR, or average daily rate.

GLENEAGLE Group are to manage In London in 2005 hotels experi- averaging 13.1pc, March 2016 pro- 18.2pc to €94.98.

Brussels was also heavily affected Sheen Falls Country Club’s 26 self catering enced average year-over-year rate duced an absolute occupancy level of by the November attacks in Paris, so 71.7pc, down just 4.8pc decrease units in Kenmare aimed at the luxury market. growth of 3.2pc in the three months Read here. following the July 7 attacks on the from the same month in 2015. Paris’ data through February may indicate ADR fell 1.8pc on average between this market’s recovery patterns. FolSTR research suggested hotel occupancy city’s transit system. Occupancy, on December and February before lowing the lockdown the Brussels the other hand, dropped by 15.1pc, recovers three months after a militant attack, climbing back to nearly flat (-0.4pc) government enacted from November 5.2pc and 1.9pc in the individual AND RevPAR not affected as badly as occumonths before rising 1.0pc in No- in March. Occupancy and ADR com- 21-25, Brussels’ occupancy declined pancy. bination led to a 5.2pc year-over-year by double digits for 16 consecutive vember.

ORMOND James Moore of the Save According to STR, hoteliers typi- decline in RevPAR, revenue per days, falling by as much as 62.6pc.

Joycean Dublin Committee raised objections to cally do not attempt to recapture oc- available room. This was the slightest Between November and January, Monteco’s plans for a 121-bedroom hotel at the cupancy levels with lower rates RevPAR decline Paris has experi- Brussels posted an average monthly site of the Ormond Hotel. following a militant attack as tourists enced since November 2015, indicat- occupancy decline of 17.0pc. Then in are to avoid the market regard- ing that Paris’ hotel market may be in February, occupancy was down just PREM Group bought the four-star Tulfer- lesslikely 2.3pc. ADR during this time fluctuthe early stages of recovery. of price. ris Hotel and Golf Resort near Blessington for ated but grew in year-over-year comAfter the attacks on 22 March After the March 2004 train bomb€8m. ings in Madrid, occupancy fell 12.7pc 2016, Brussels’ occupancy levels parisons for three of four months.

STR Global says Greater London has 5,456 rooms in 33 hotels under construction, the highest in Europe, followed by Istanbul (4,203 rooms in 24 hotels); Moscow (3,487 rooms in ney 17pc and Dublin 16pc. €92. Just five destinations 14 hotels); and Greater Berlin (2,123 rooms in ive Irish destinations price index.

Belfast and Derry partly Dublin has the highest av- have average rates under six hotels). STR says Europe reported a 3.5pc have cheaper averincrease in occupancy to 71.4pc in April comage hotel rates for because of exchange rates. erage rate with €167 fol- €100. The IHF says Athlone prices are up lowed by Donegal at €163. Trivago accounts for 5pc of pared with April 2015. ADR up 3.8pc to May 2016 than May 2015 €109.54 and RevPAR up 7.4pc to €78.20. according to the Trivago 22pc on last May, Killar- Wexford is cheapest at room sales in Irish hotels.

F

DUBLIN ROOM PRICE HITS €167

to 20+ sun destinations Cork Airport is Ireland’s second busiest and best connected airport, serving 2.1 million passengers each year across 50 direct routes to the UK and Europe.

If you’re customers are looking to embark on a stress free sun holiday this year we can Fast Forward them to over 20+ sun destinations.

MADRID

NANTES

LA ROCHELLE

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER

JUNE TO SEPTEMBER

JUNE TO AUGUST

Madrid’s charms are sometimes obscured by the sheer number of incredible destinations in Spain, but the Spanish capital is truly one of Europe’s great cities.

Nantes was the historical capital of Brittany, but for almost 200 years it has been the regional centre for the Pays de la Loire region. It’s a city with an obviously rich past but it’s also the gateway to a region that is French to its core.

La Rochelle is often described as one of the most attractive and untouched seaside towns in Europe; with its preserved old town and the harbour’s fortress towers. It has the largest marina on the Atlantic coast, complimented by an impressive aquarium.

Iberia Express are operating direct flights from Cork Airport to Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport in 2016. www.iberiaexpress.com

CityJet are operating direct weekly direct flights from Cork Airport to Nantes Atlantique Airport in 2016.

CityJet are operating flights from June until the end of August, 2016.

www.cityjet.com

www.cityjet.com

www.corkairport.com CA FF 330x240 ad.indd 1

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POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE

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ikki Courtman of Holland American Line and Tanya Airey of Sunway hosted hosted the trade in Dublin in Dublin.

They told agents about the cruise line's new partnership with the tour operator. Sunway offer wholesale rates to Irish agents on HAL cruises.

Sunway offer wholesale rates to Irish agents on Holland America cruises.

Vikki says “people who are looking

A

madeus demonstrated what is effectively an app for travel agents that will allow them to hand-hold their clients when they are on the move.

Amadeus promised time-saving facilities and greater productivity to enable travel agents grow their revenues through advanced retailing from their new selling platform connect which means agents can stay connected to their

P

ennsylvania and American Airlines hosted the trade and media in Dublin at separate events, Picture shows Greg Evans of Pennsylvania and Caitriona Toner of American Airlines.

Partners at the event included Mara Sultan of Discover Lancaster, Svetlana Yazovskikh of Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau, Michael Chapaloney of Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

for extra touches should remember we are a five star product. It is all about space and time. Smaller ships means we can get in and out of ports quicker, passengers can get on and off the ship quicker.” Picture shows Dawn Conway of Sunway, Tanya Airey of Sunway, Vikki Courtman of Holland America and Deirdre Sweeny of Sunway at the Sunway and Holland America cruise line event.

customers 100pc of the time and can manage their client’s entire journey from one place.

Amadeus says there is a 68pc average time saving by booking ancillary services, a 54pc average time saving when they integrate external content, and a 49pc average time saving on complex and repetitive tasks. Picture shows Trish O’leary, Volker Lorenz and Olwen McKinney of Amadeus.

Fiona Noonan and Caitriona Toner of American Airlines, Greg Evans of The Greg Evans Consultancy Limited, David Thomas of American Airlines, Ann Pilcher of the Pocono Mountains Convention & Visitors Bureau, Greg Edevane of The Countryside of Philadelphia, Audrey Bialas of Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau and Marc Kaminetsky of the Countryside of Philadelphia

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er Lingus is one of the 30 airline partners announced as part of the New Development Capability launch at the IATA Congress in Dublin.

Three years after NDC was unveiled Yanak Hoyles of IATA told Travel Extra that GDS’s and agents alike have nothing to fear from the distribution scheme as its sole purpose was to give customers more access to differentiated product

M

artin Dempsey (41 points, playing off 12) and Ann Byrne (28 points, playing off 24) were the winners at the TIGS May outing, sponsored by Turkish Airlines at Mount Juliet Golf Resort.

The event attracted 70 golfers, including the team England players who were defeated 6-0 by their Irish col-

A

ntonio Martin of Andalusian Tourist Board and Gonzalo Ceballos of the Spanish Tourist Office hosted Irish travel trade and in the Dining Hall in Trinity College.

The event showcased the burgeoning direct connections with Malaga, Almeria and Seville giving easy access to the region as well as the AVE high speed train connections to Malaga, Seville and Cordoba.

such as larger seats and ancillaries.

Now 18 airlines are certified NDC capable so NDC is now mainstream. There are 21 deployments of which 18 are now certified. This year 86 airlines say they are prepared to deploy NDC over the next four years up from 73 last year.

Today we have 17 technology companies are certified as NDC capable. He pointed out that Amadeus PSS Altéa was NDC certified this month.

leagues in a match organized by team England captain Greg Evans, who described it as “a bit of a whitewash.”

Ireland's captain was Pat Dawson with Volker Lorenz set to step into his golf shoes for next year for what both sides hope will be an annual event.

Picture shows Onur Gul and Julie Curran of Turkish Airlines.

Guest of honour as José María Rodríguez, Ambassador of Spain. Entertainment was provided by renowned tenor and double basse Miguel Sànchez, pianist Bernardo Jiménez and Adriano Lozano. In 2015 Andalucía accounted for 21.6pc of Irish tourism to Spain, 299,165 visits. Picture shows Pat Dawson CEO of the ITAA, Gonzalo Ceballos of the Spanish Tourist board and Antonio Martin of Andalusia tourism

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WINTERSUN 2016-17

wo generations of Irish holiday makers associate the Canary Islands with some of the most memorable and pleasant days of their lives, a European destination with duty free cigarettes, year round sunshine and some of the best tourist nightspots on the trail.

The islands have long been secured in their position as capital of Europe’s wintersun market.

The guaranteed sunshine options are limited, Malta, Cyprus, Tunisia, Morocco, Madeira and the four islands. Otherwise holiday makers are flying for eight hours, and often through more than one airport.

Th Irish like to go in summer as well. Last year 32.7pc of the Irish visitors to Spain ended up in the Canaries for at least one visit, some many times.

If any of the individual Canary Islands was a country they would be among Ireland’s top ten most popular outbound destinations.

Irish visits to the Canaries were up 4.8pc last year to 442,583 and the islands report an increase of 13pc on top of those figures in the first months of 2015. The figures are the second highest in the history of Irish tourism to the Canaries, 32,000 short of the peak of 2008.

That 422,195 compares with 255,500 Irish visits to Portugal, 288,000 to Italy and 446,000 to all of North America.

Irish people are more familiar with Puerto del Carmen than with some of our own provincial towns. It is the most popular among Irish holidaymakers having overtaken Santa Ponsa in recent years. In Lanzarote 228,000 Irish Trips represent 9pc of total tourist to the island in 2014 In Fuerteventura (45,000) they are 2.3pc of total, Gran Canaria (71,200) 2pc and in Tenerife (101,000) 2pc.

Signature sand dunes in Gran Canaria

South in quest of winter warmth E

Canary Islands had second best year from Ireland

Playa del Inglés was one of the first towns to come into existence solely for holidaymakers: it tells us everything we need to know that Mulligan’s is the most prominent of the social venues there.

Most Irish people would name Puerto Rico as the resort on the southwest coast of Gran Canaria. 10 miles west of Playa del Inglés, than the Caribbean island.

They attract three times the number of holiday makers that Greece and her islands does. Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, the two most popular, each attract more visitors than Turkey.

“The Irish have a special welcome here,” Tobias Pujol on Gran

Canaria says. “They like to party.”

The love affair, as love affairs do, goes deeper than that. Juana Rosa Aleman says the Irish are the best clients to the island of Gran Canaria. “We receive a lot of visitors: the numbers are astonishing in comparison with the population of the country.” Only Norway compares with Ireland in the proportion of people that come to Gran Canaria.

Urs Rohrig hosts many of them at the Hotel Marina Suites in Puerto Rico. He has the needs of his Irish guests down to a tee. The Irish spend more money on holiday than any other nation, he says..

veryone knows there are more than four Canary Islands without being sure of the names of the others: most people get La Gomera and stop at that.

There are seven, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Fuerteventura in order of visitor arrivals from Ireland, La Gomera – beautiful but a tad expensive to get to, the mountainous La Palma and the diving idyll of El Hiero.

Canary Islands history was defined by their geography. Fuerteventura was the first island to be "discovered" and conquered by the Spanish, leading to an almost preordained squabble over the islands between the

I

reland’s association with the Canaries came about, as these things do, by accident.

The Canaries was an impoverished backwater when the first charters started arriving from Sweden in the 1960s. It was too distant for Irish minds, what few tourists travelled there arrived on a £110 cruise.

Back in Collinstown Aer Lingus were trying to work out what to do with Portuguese and the one of their new Boeing Spaniards and eventual 711s ordered in a fit of extinction of the indige- expansionist exuberance nous people who had by Jeremiah Dempsey a welcomed St Brendan, few years earlier and now the Guanches, inherited by his after they lost successor as Aer their unequal IRELAND’S Lingus CEO, battle against VISITORS Michael Dargan. more technoExactly 45 years 2006 431,000 logical oppoago, on May 30 2007 422,000 nents in 1495.

2008 474,000 1967, they sent it to W i t h i n 2009 424,279 Madrid, with the decades the 2010 353,506 combination of opnew world had 2011 395,871 timism and the debeen discov2012 375,234 scending feeling ered and the 2013 407,666 that nobody was Canary Islands 2014 422,195 going to Franco’s became the 2015 442,583 capital on holidays. first meg-hub The advertiseof trans-Atments of the time lantic travel and com- are full of promise and merce, at the heart of the possibilities, especially trade throughout the em- the possibility of Iberia pire on which the sun connections to the south never set. of Spain and the Canaries (Iberia was then the

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www.seychelles.travel

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JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 11

SPECIAL FEATURE

Seychelles Secrets: ‘Once-in-a-lifetime refuge from a frantic world’

ncreasingly, Seychelles is catering to the middle and lower price ranges with a wonderfully diverse array of picturesque small hotels. Here is a collection of small hotels, Creole guesthouses and self-caterings redolent with local charm and great self-caterings where you can lead life entirely at your own pace and whim.

At the forefront of this initiative to bring the Seychelles Experience within the reach of more visitors is the ‘Seychelles Secrets’ portfolio of small establishments which have been especially vetted, upgraded and refurbished to provide clients with comfort, a wide range of facilities and excellent value for money These exceptional estab-

lishments provide great value for money as well as an authentic introduction to Seychelles’ unique island lifestyle, placing the visitor in direct touch with the islands’ vibrant culture, exquisite gastronomy and offering a range of activities: sailing, diving, fishing, island-hopping and trekking as well as the ultimate in romantic breaks…all without

breaking the bank.

A new era is dawning over the Seychelles Islands one which is steadily bringing its legendary natural beauty and the exceptional holiday experience it offers within reach of more and more holiday makers.

Thanks to Seychelles Secrets,

gone are the days when a Seychelles vacation could only be enjoyed by a privileged few – now that is a dream which is eminently attainable and one which is being enjoyed by more and more visitors to its dazzling shores.

www.seychelles.travel

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WINTERSUN 2016-17

fastest growing airline in the world).

One clever advertising campaign visualised what was happening on a Spanish beach in December “just three hours from Dublin.”

Irish travel agents knew better. They started advertising Tenerife for 90 guineas. The price came down to 76 guineas in 1970, and by 1973 the travel industry had combined to offer the first direct flights, a joint effort to fill one of the new Aer Lingus 747s, for £66.

The love affair was born. .

LANZAROTE

the favourite, is the most volcanic of all, the Isla de los Volcanes, It measures just 40 miles from north to south and 13 miles east to west.

The landscape is stark and stony, peppered with 300 volcanic cones, a moonscape that leads to lush valleys full of vegetation.

Unesco declared the entire island a biosphere reserve in 1993. New development must be balanced against the need to preserve the island’s heritage and environment.

That means that the tourist resorts, noisy and boisterous as they are, are easy to escape. The best trip is to Timanfaya the so called Fire Mountains to have lunch cooked by the volcano. The lava slopes and craters can be ascended by camel.

Malpais en Tinguaton_55 Cueva de los Verdes (Jameos del Agua) is a memorable system of volcanic caves extending some 3 miles to the sea; they are the home of blind albino crabs, usually only found at 200 metres below. One cavern is used as a nightclub.

Montañas del Fuego.

You can also take sea trips by schooner to Arrecife to Papagayo beaches. Mirador del Rio in the north is a famous viewing point from which the island of Graciosa (the graceful one) can be seen.

Ya i z a village wins the "Best Kept in Spain" award year after year for its pristine white painted houses.

Each Sunday there is a market in the old inland town of Teguise from 8am. Some operators

offer a day trip to Marrakech, a short flight away.

Marina Lanzarote opens in Arrecife this year. Claiming to be the first Luxury Refit Centre in the Canaries, sailors can make use of its 820tonne hoist and repair services, in addition to shore side leisure facilities.

Cruising expert Jimmy Cornell has set up the Atlantic Odyssey non-competitive rally.

The inaugural event will take place in the newlyopened Marina Lanzarote, Arrecife, November 9 to 15.

Visitors can participate in ecological activities in conjunction with UNESCO. Highlights of the event include talks and seminars for visiting cruisers.

The Jameos del Agua will reopen for winter. Set

on a volcano cave, the auG CANARIA ditorium can hold 600 second most popular, has people for concert and a circular coast road with dinner events. a number of steep mounThe Tapas Fair takes tain roads striking inland place in Puerto del Carto the central mountains, men, September 26-27. which reach an altitude Visitors can sample prodof 6,400 feet. ucts and wines from local In the north are green restaurants in one locavalleys, pine trees and tion. The event coincides abundant sub-tropical with International Tapas crops and flowers. The Day south is dry and desertTeguise village hosts like. Its 538 square miles the Tasting Lanzarote can be explored by tour Food & Wine Festival on bus, jeep safari or hireNovember 28 and 29. car.

Chefs from Spain and the Sioux City, just outside rest of the Canary Islands Playa del Inglés, is a will host cooking demos spaghetti and prepare western more “avantFAVOURITES film set garde” dishes (the Hard 227,680 using local in- Lanzarote R i d e , Tenerife 100,800 gredients. Vis1 9 7 5 ) Gran Canaria 71,800 itors can n o w experience the Fuerteventura 57,000 turned food market or into a attend exhibiWild West tions in the Taste Room. theme park open 6 days a Other attractions include week, with evening a food-inspired film seshows. The capital Las ries.

Palmas, a sizeable city The Royal Ocean Racand port, offers the best ing Club transatlantic shopping opportunities, race starts at Puerto with some good duty-free Calero in November. bargains. La Vegueta is

the historic quarter where Columbus called en route to the New World and in the eccentric 18-room Hotel Madrid the clocks are stopped at July 17 1936, when Franco was governor and invited by English supporters to go fight for fascism in Spain.

The most famous beaches are in the south, where the Malpalomas sand dunes do a good impression of Africa. Puerto Mogan has a wide range of water sports including jet ski trips and paragliding. If you propose somewhere above water-level, it is also the only place on the island you can get married.

If you want to escape the crowds go west to Playa de Guigui, a two hour hike through a roadless landscape, or the slightly more accessible Playa de Tasarte, with its single bar, which has an asphalt road to the last kilometre.

Gran Canaria’s winter temperatures average 19 degrees. Evenings can be chilly, but still average 14 degrees.

The chances of rain peaks during winter, coming in two or threeday bursts. The island gets about two day of rain each month during summer, increasing to six days between October and March. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that locals class a rainy day as any day where there is a shower.

The upside of the rain

Clockwise Lanzarote burnt landscape, Malpais en Tinguaton, Playa Famara, Eoghan Corry paragliding in GC, terraced fields in GC

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JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 14

WINTERSUN 2016-17 is that the winter showers bring out the greenery, which makes for an attractive landscape for winter walking. Visitors are encouraged to rent a car and search for “waterfalls” in the barrancos.

Gran Canaria invites LGBT visitors to Maspalomas for the Winter Pride festival, November 9 to 15.

Fiesta del Charco takes place mid-September, with fishing and other water competitions.

Fiesta de la Naval , a maritime festival commemorating the 1595 attacks by Francis Drake, takes place early October in the La Isleta district.

Atlantic Rally for Cruisers takes place November 29. The yacht rally departs Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

Fiesta de Santa Lucia takes place in December.

TENERIFE is

the old maiden, largest of the Canary Islands at 795 square miles just slightly smaller than Louth, so there is plenty to explore.

It has a great variety of subtropical and high altitude landscapes, flora and fauna which reflect its volcanic origins and proximity to Africa. It was the first big destination in the islands for Irish holiday makers but for a period was regarded as the preserve of newlyweds and retired.

Some theme parks, Sky Park Tenerife, and two

expansive waterparks Aqualand Costa Adeje and Siam Park have gone some way to changing that and reimposing its family appeal. There are also half a dozen animal parks.

There is no escaping the outstanding excursion here: Mount Teide (El Pico), the 12,402 foot volcanic mountain which dominates the island was once accepted as the tallest in the world. Visitors can also day-trip south to see Las Cañadas National Park with its lush verdant scenery in the Oratava valley and moody deserted volcanic landscapes.

There is a 3,000-yearold dragon tree at Icod.

There are medieval shows at San Miguel (a "Knight" to remember) and a variety of water based experiences.

The Singha waterslide opens at Siam Park this winter. No launch date has been announced yet.

The slide is 200 metres long with lots of bends to hurdle thrill seekers over small jumps at high speed.

Adrián Hoteles launched an online shop to allow guests to prebook experiences at any of the group’s three hotels in Costa Adeje, including gastronomy experiences, spa treatments and private tennis lessons. The group launched the Babymoon Package for parents to be — a last holiday before the baby arrives. The

Paragliding in Gran Canaria

package includes a ro- comes to El Médano mantic dinner, couple’s beach, August 3 to 9. If massage and spa treat- you’re not into watersports, there will be conments.

Fuegos del Risco takes certs and family activities on the place beach as August THE MARKET well.

2. The Tenere v e n t With partner 50pc t a k e s Partner and children 14.1pc ife celebrates the p l a c e Other family 8.1pc 125th ane v e r y Friends 7.8pc niversary f i v e Travelling alone 5.5pc of Agatha years to Single w children 1.6pc Christie’s c o m - Work colleagues 0.3pc birth at memot h e rate the Treveljo volcano eruption Agatha Christie Internaof 1706. There will bon- tional Festival in Puerto fires and fireworks on the de la Cruz, November 9 Bay of Garachico, with to 15. The full prothe nearby mountains gramme has yet to be anserving as a backdrop. nounced, but there will be The Professional films and plays celebratWindsurfers Association ing the crime novelist World Championships who visited Puerto de la

Cruz in 1927 and wrote The Man from the Sea while she was there.

FUERTEVENTURA has almost

guaranteed sunshine, supposedly only 15 days of the year without, and is the quietest of the four biggies.

They claim 3,000 hours of sunshine throughout the year, with temperatures sustaining throughout the winter.

The lowest sea temperatures will drop is 19 degrees, offering good conditions for surfing, diving, fishing and other water sports.

There are 150 beaches, some considered among the best in Europe, with

clear waters ideal for snorkelling and diving, miles of soft, light sands, rising to wind-blown dunes in places, sloping down to clean, clear waters.

At Nuevo Horizonte they constructed Lagos de Antigua, a sea-water swimming lake with restaurants and shops nearby.

Acua Water Park is open until November 10, and Oasis Park will remain open during the winter season.

Rainbow Fuerteventura, the island’s winter gay pride festival, takes place in Corralejo this December, final dates to be announced. There will be a host of events including volleyball tournaments, concerts and parties.

The International Kite Festival takes place November 6 to 8. Day one starts with a free-fly on the beach and is the day to collect your commemorative t-shirt. All day Saturday, kite flyers will demonstrate their skills right until sundown. Sunday is the big day though: 150 kites are distributed to visiting children who are invited to colour the kites. Parachuting teddy bears will drop sweets from the sky and there will be raffles. The final event is a kite combat, where stunt kites battle it out in the sky. Last man flying wins.

Clockwise: Puerto Rico- GC, Playa Blanca Lanzarote.Teide under snow, Fuerteventura-La Oliva, Teguise-Fundación César Manrique

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www.webtenerife.co.uk

Tenerife: an island to enjoy

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enerife welcomes five million tourists per year, 80,000 of them from Ireland.

Despite its size, almost exactly the size of County Wicklow, the island boasts a variety of breathtaking landscapes, varying from prehistoric forests to desert plains of volcanic lava, and all within 45 minutes to one hour’s distance.

No matter where you are on the island, you will always have easy access to stunning nature, Mount Teide, small cobbled street villages, resorts, amusement parks and beaches.

The exotic but European isle enables visitors to enjoy a dream holiday in a relaxed

and pleasant atmosphere.

With an unexpected natural beauty, a busy agenda of authentic fiestas and fascinating culture, every corner of the island is worthwhile exploring.

The island is famous for its kindness in welcoming visitors and the great yearround spring-like climate, with an average temperature of 22 degrees.

An unbeatable climate, nearly 400 Km of coastline, 70 beaches, 8 golf courses, excellent hotel and leisure facilities, have all positioned Tenerife as a perfect winter and summer sun destination.

T

here are parks and pedestrian areas for pleasant strolls, the chance to dig into the culture and history of areas such as Santa Cruz, Arona (Los Cristianos), Adeje, Puerto de la Cruz and La Laguna, and visit shopping centres to buy fashion, jewellery, accessories and handicrafts.

Tenerife has more five star hotels than Barcelona. It has an exceptional range of accommodation, with over 50,000 beds in four and five star hotels, available at just 20 minutes from the main international airport.

It has a safety and welcoming atmosphere on an exotic island, with its 17th century mansions, wineries, banana plantations, historical museums or state-of-the-art buildings.

It offers a wealth of activities including stargazing in the Teide National Park, whale watching in the Atlantic or traditional cookery courses with wine tasting as well as museums such as the Museum of Mankind and Nature in Santa Cruz and TEA. Popular activities amongst visitors include dolphin and whale spotting in the waters of Tenerife where there are stable schools of short-

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 13

SPECIAL FEATURE finned pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins. Lots of boats leave for spotting every day from Puerto Colón (Costa Adeje), Puerto de Los Cristianos and Puerto de Los Gigantes (Santiago del Teide).

T

he island is home to different theme parks – authentic paradises to have fun and spend unforgettable moments. There are options to enjoy nature to the max with areas for rural houses and vantage points looking out over spectacular local landscapes.

The most spectacular natural setting on Tenerife is the Teide National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is home to the highest peak in Spain at 3,718 metres. It can be accessed by public or private transport. There is an accessible path, Roque de Caramujo.

The Anaga Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO is one of the oldest areas of the island. It is located in the Anaga Massif and comprises 14,000 hectares home to a jewel of local nature, a magical laurisilva forest whose origins date back to

the Tertiary Period.

Vantage points on the island for admiring different spots include Cruz del Carmen (Anaga Rural Park) or Humboldt (La Orotava), .

A

trip to Tenerife should also include a tour of the historic town and city centres. La Laguna old town, a World Heritage Site, is perfect for a stroll around the pedestrian streets and admiring the historic buildings. Garachico is also worth a leisurely stop-off.

Tenerife has two international airports; Reina Sofia Airport (south) and Los Rodeos Airport (north); as well as two ports, one in Santa Cruz and the other in Los Cristianos.

Visitors can plan their holiday with the help of www.webtenerife.co.uk. They can also continue their research on the ground through local tourist offices.

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DESTINATION CANARIES

he island is small, and stands tall. Its highest points are higher than the highest mountain in Ireland. They were crowned with headscarf fog when we visited in late spring. Across the channel the re were amazing views of Teide on Tenerife under a clear blue sky.

Around their aprons were ancient stone walls, very west of Ireland, and laid out in neat terraces, the stony soil tended with care as it had been since ancient times.

La Gomera is the most easily accessed of the second division Canaries.

You fly to Tenerife south and transfer by local bus to the harbour. The ferry ride is 30 minutes, the channel crossed by two ferry lines every hour.

Take a excursion from Tenerife, rather than book separately. excursion was €65 for coach transfer, ferry, coach and guide around island and lunch and drinks.. ferry on its own is €60 from Tenerife.

There is one tourist re-

Eoghan Corry on a whistle-stop tour to secret Canary Island

Little G

View of Teide from La Gomera

sort, Valle Gran Rey, and another aspirant, Playa de Santiago. You get the feeling this is a place to pack hiking boots with the suntan lotion.

“We cannot offer a lot of beaches, lazing in the sun,” says tour guide Gordo Wenke. “What we

can offer is nature.”

“All the little villages were connected with ancient pathways that criss cross the country, up and down the hills, through the forests and along the ravines. That was how people communicated.

The old pathways are still

THINGS TO DO PLACES TO SEE

■ Garajonay National Park a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique forest ecosystem, terrific location for walks and hikes with stunning views. Information Center Juego de Bolas is a good place to start.

■ Tina Excursiones whale and dolphin watching, good food is served on board and you can swim off the boat in the clear blue water. +34 922 80 58 85 www.excursiones-tina.com

■ La Iglesia de la Asuncion, beautiful church which serves as focal point of the community in the capital ■ Bosque del Cedro, ancient woodlands, green and lush ■ Torre del Conde, watch tower against the indigenous people, Columbus stopped here before his voyage of discovery in 1492, home to an exhibition of original historic maps, plans and documents.

there. You can walk for two weeks and never retrace your steps.”

The people who come usually come to walk.

You do not need to fear any rustling sounds in the undergrowth. La Gomera has no snakes and almost no insects.

T

he Spaniards found the place inhabited when they arrived. The indigenous Berber people, possibly enslaved and brought by

the Phoenicians and abandoned here, were wiped out by the conquistadores.

Some phrases from their lost language survive, but their legacy is an astonishing whistling language now used as a performance for tourists, Silbo Gomero.

Some Gomerans measure their fluency in whistling as a badge of authenticity. Whistling is now on the primary school syllabus. Evening classes are available too.

On an island of tall

stacks and deep ravines, there was a need for communication with a whistle that can be heard five kilometres away. A whistled message could encircle the island in an hour.

There are even whistling accents, with the northern and southern whistles having distinctive sounds.

Our whistle-masters turned phrases in Spanish and English into what sounded like a courtship ceremony between lovebirds, bringing new meaning to the phrase whistle-stop tour.

■ Eoghan Corry flew o tenerife with Aer Lingus and was hosted by the Spanish Tourist Board. Aer Lingus fly daily to Tenerife South, the airport nearest the La Gomera ferry crossing.www.aerlingus.com ■ He stayed at the cliff top Hotel Jardin Tecina, www.jardin-tecina.com

Red earth in Garajonay National Park,Travel Etxra’s Eoghan Corry at La Punta, Torre del Conde and terraced fields

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JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 17

V

olcanic islands, all of them, have a prehistoric feel.

The trees and plants looked like extras from a Jurassic park sequel.

The volcanoes last erupted between seven and 12 million years ago, but they have never lost that jagged ready for action feel.

Throughout the national parks there are curious tall stacks, chimneys of solidified lava, the Roques Ojila, Zarcita, Carmona and Las Lajas, with nicknames such as the Sombrero or the Lion, and folk tales to match.

Roque de Agando in Garajonay National Park was the sacred rock of the indigenous people. Young boys had to climb to the top to become men. “The young beauties waited below for them to come down so they could show

DESTINATION CANARIES

Hotel Jardin Tecina

them what matters in life,” Gordo says.

Every rock and animal seems to have a story to tell. At another stop Gordo picked up a small white bubble on a prickly pear.

He squeezed it between his thumb and forefinger

and maroon blood flowed ghoulishly out. "The cochineal louse," he says.

It was the source of immense wealth for the island, when it was the only source of carmine and royalty from all Europe sought the dye it produced

L

a Gomera was Christopher Columbus's last port of call before he crossed the Atlantic in August 1492.

The small square tower in the island’s capital and main port, San Sebastian

the island's governor, Beatriz de Bobadilla.

Legend holds it was she who gave him cuttings of sugarcane, to take to the new world. from that La Gomera sapling grew an industry.

Menus are adorned with local produce. The local wine is distinctive, fruit of the black volcanic soil. We dined on maruso perch and watercress soup at a clifftop restaurant surrounded by red sand. Teide loomed at us from across the channel.

de la Gomera, is the only mark of his presence. A map on the pavement sets out his journey. A small collection of historic maps is inside.

And a love story;. He had planned to stay four days, to take on provisions, but fell in love with

T

he throbbing nightlife of the other Canary Islands could be an eternity away. This island, 200 miles from the coast of Africa, feels like a different continent.

“Tenerife is Europe, “ says Gordo. “This is calm and different,”

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JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 18

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HARMONY OF THE SEAS

oyal Caribbean’s Jennifer Callister, Jenny Rafter and Michaela Banks hosted 200 Irish agents on board Harmony of the Seas for a pre launch cruise.

The ship is 30cm wider than its sisters in class, and the difference is notable in cabin space.

We asked some fo the Irish agents what they thought.

PAMELA BROWNLEE

This ship ticks all the boxes. One of the girls from my office said Harmony reminded her of Las Vegas. It was full of good positive vibes, with lots to do that would bring a smile to anyone's face: casino, shows, Aqua Theatre, restaurants, Royal Promenade, Central Park, the Boardwalk, The Abyss (longest water slides @sea), it was electric.

But what Royal do best is that they cater for everyone, not just the adrenaline junkies. In the fabulous, relaxing solarium and central park where you can sit and read a book, listen to the birds singing and sit back with the piped music in the background. #Wow just doesn't do it.

This is all you could ever want and more.

COLETTE BRENNAN :

The e-travel team had an amazing time onboard Harmony of the Seas we experienced a lot of the onboard activities; the ultimate abyss, water slides, Carousel, mini golf. Our highlights were Grease the musical, iceshow in studio B, and the amazing gym and spa facilities.

DAWN CONWAY : If

you are looking for something new and exciting, Harmony is for you. There is plenty on board, a slide ten storeys high, sitting for a sophisticated glass of wine in

Singing Harmony’s praises We ask the agents

Harmony’s waterslide can be seen from a distance

central park with lots of choices of restaurants. It is like staying in a luxury resort on land but one that moves you around to different destinations when you are asleep.

TOM BRITTON : The

whole Harmony experience can be treated as a lego experience. You can build your holiday any way you want. Family, bring the kids, a couple wanting chill time, the ladies looking to live it up, it's all there. It is perhaps the most flexible holiday at sea.

Standing aside from all the hype, Harmony of the Seas is an evolution in Royal Caribbean’s cruise offering. The hull design and overall architecture is essentially Oasis and Allure of the seas 2.01.

Once you step away from the core architecture, Harmony is a hybrid of the Quantum and Oasis classes. Harmony is a self contained resort at sea, there simply no need for Harmony to dock. From the fast food experience of Johnny Rockets to the fine dining of 150 Park Central. The whole Central Park and "neighbourhoods" gives the ship a very special feel despite its scale. The nod to the USA continues with the American Icon Grill, so if you are a USA fiend, you'll find sanctuary on Harmony. And whilst thinking of Americana or

maybe even New York, Grease, the show. Wow, you might as well be sitting in a theatre on Broadway. Fantastic.

Overall the upping of technology which extends from the Quantum fleet is excellent. The check-in via IPad equipped walkabout staff is ultra straight forward, so there are none of the airport induced "checkin" nerves.

Design changes such as the outward opening doors of the staterooms help give larger feeling to staterooms.

Royal Caribbean have invested heavily in satellite technology to boost connectivity and it shows. Whats App, and Viber work perfectly along with Iplayer.

Of course there is a fee, but you won't feel so bad as the whole experience is pretty seamless.

Some say you can pile on about 2lbs per day on a cruise. Well, if you are leaning that way, the gym is vast, well stocked with all the usual instruments of torture.

What has to be the biggest spinning class at sea is hosted beside a multiuse TRX room. Add on the deck five running track and you should be able to keep the extra pounds away.

NIKI STANFORD : I

truly loved Harmony of the Seas, my favourite Royal Caribbean ship to

date. It is just an amazing ship overall. I loved the promenade, boardwalk, central park they create such great areas for people to gather and this creates a great atmosphere for clients.

The Abyss slide was a great idea such a fun addition for adults and children. Grease the show in the theatre was fantastic, unbelievable, a real West End Show. I look forward to stepping on board the ship again and cruise for my own personal holiday.

DOMINIC BURKE : On the

Saturday night aboard the ship, a small group of eight of us dined in the Jamie Oliver restaurant (very good). When we finished up around 10pm. and left the restaurant it was raining outside. I jokingly suggested that we should get a taxi.

Such was the illusion created by the space immediately outside the restaurant, with the plantings, cobblestoned footpaths and street lighting.

In that instant, I fully appreciated what an amazing ship this was.

Harmony of the Seas and Royal have come in for some criticism for the unfinished nature of the ship when it set sail. I would make the comparison with any of us who have ever bought a new house and the snag list

that had to be compiled and handed to the builder, all those little imperfections and omissions at the handover point.

If you take the numbers that are cited for Harmony (max passenger capacity of 6,296 and crew complement of 2,100) you effectively have a population is larger than some Irish towns: ■ Trim (8,268) ■ Tuam (8,242) ■ New Ross (8,151) ■ Kildare (8,142) ■ Thurles (7,933) Who, in their right minds, would accept the keys to an entire town of this size without expecting a few screws to be loose here or there.

They were all minor things and they were all fixed within a matter of hours.

DEIRDRE SWEENY: The

First thing I noticed was the width of the ship, it had a double deck with pool, slides, golf, basketball, the Abyss, the largest slide at sea 10 story’s high and over 72 metres long, what an experience, awesome.

My evening was spent in Wonderland. The food is based on the Sun, Ice, Fire, Water, Earth and Dreams,, each with a selection of small or shareable fantasies A wow experience, waiters dressed like the mad hatters tea party, décor similar to Wizard of Oz, atmosphere was buzzing.

This was the top of them all and only holding a cover charge of $45 per person. This is a must for that special occasion.

Night into morning Dancing to the Wild Boys was like a street party right in the middle of the Promenade which carried on to the many Clubs, Bars, and Casino. This was a night to remember.

I woke early in my Junior Suite, which was the lap of luxury, a walk in wardrobe, full bath/bathroom, spacious deck with

full sun loungers, full bedroom with sitting area and very luxurious bathroom amenities from L’Occitane.

A quick cup of tea and off to the gym, state of the art equipment on board with stunning views. Not a bad way to begin the day. Breakfast was at the Windjammer, floor to ceiling glass with 360 degrees views of the ocean.

What a view.

The features, décor, ambiance and sheer elegance of this ship is breath taking.

As we continued our informal tour, we fell upon the really intermediate Vintages wine bar, enjoying this cosy atmosphere while sipping a very chilled New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc. Top marks to Royal’s sommelier in their choice of wines. A must for any cruiser to visit.

Show one was Grease.

The theatre is so grand and elaborate. The music started. I closed my eyes and for a minute forgot where I was. It could have been Broadway.

This is a must, the best show I have seen at sea. It was totally up there and didn’t want it to end. John and Olivia were the best.

I was back in the day of leather trousers, black top with red shoes. Oh, how I would love to have been on the stage. The help they received singing and dancing from their awed audience was wonderful.

Show two: Wild Boys were again performing in the main Promenade. I think this was a first for this band to witness All 3,000 guests seemed to be there, dancing, singing, sipping drinks and chatting. The noise levels were at an all-time high. It was a performance of a lifetime, us not them.

Some guests were in the Rising Tide bar which moves between 3 floors, they sat and danced in style sipping champagne while looking down on

us.

page 019 15/06/2016 10:13 Page 1

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JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 20

AFLOAT

SILVERSEA Cruises opened bookings for its 121-day world cruise from Los Angeles to Rome, departing January 6 2018, with prices to match: $57,750 per person sharing or €103,000/$115,500 a cabin.

STENA

Line offered free ferry travel for life to the Ireland and Northern Ireland teams if they win UEFA Euro 2016.

LIBERTY Royal Caribbean opened its

Tidal Wave water slide on Liberty of the Seas.

SEABOURN The first steel was cut

for the Seabourn Ovation at a ceremony in Genoa’s Fincantieri yard.

CELEBRITY Cruises is to replace the Bistro on Five creperie with Sushi on Five following a four-month trial on Celebrity Reflection.

PASSAGE EAST Limerick-based

Frazer Ferries, owner of Carlingford Ferries, has bought Passage East Ferry Company in Waterford. The 28 vehicles and 130 passenger service sails an average of 106 sailings per day seven days a week.

MSC Cruises appointed Erica Oglesby to work as support to Rebecca Kelly. Erica previously worked with Sunway and Thomas Cook.

Read here MSC Fantasia itineraries from Dubai will stop at private island from this winter after MSC announced a Caribbean style private island off Abu Dhabi. Sir Bani Yas is beside a nature reserve and dhow tours will offer wildlife sightings. Read here.

ROYAL Caribbean’s Adventure of the Seas is to get an aqua park with new cyclone and typhoon waterslides and new restaurants to be fitted during dry dock, an Izumi Asian restaurant is to be added and dry-aged steaks added to Chops Grille as well as the flowRider surf simulator. Read here QM2 first time. Cunard is adding 35 cabins to the top deck of Queen Mary 2, during dry dock in Hamburg while elsewhere 15 single cabins and 12 animal kennels are being fitted.

Queen Mary 2 will return to Southampton on June 23 before crossing to New York.

DISNEY New attractions to be fitted on

Disney Wonder during an autumn dry dock in Cadiz will include a Marvel Super Hero Academy, It's a Small World Nursery, Tiana's Place restaurant, an English-style pub and It's a Small World Nursery.

NCL Norwegian Cruise Line is to update its private Caribbean resort Great Stirrup Cay with a zip line, luxury villas and new restaurants. Great Stirrup Cay was the first private island to be owned by a cruise line when it was purchased by Norwegian Cruise Line in 1977.

CARNIVAL Cruise Line has added a $10 children's menu for children 12 and under to steakhouses across the fleet.

HURTIGRUTEN is name its newest

ship, MS Spitsbergen, in Svolvaer on July 6, on the Lofoten islands under the Midnight Sun.

TUI Discovery at port in Palma

H

TUI cruising x2

TUI Discovery will include all inclusive drinks

elen Caron of Thomson Cruises has had her credit card out again.

Even as TUI Discovery was going through a lavish naming ceremony in Palma, plans were announced for the 1,832-passenger Legend of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International. . Legend will be renamed TUI Discovery 2 and join the TUI fleet in May 2017.

Members of the Irish media were hosted by Thomson Cruises onboard the latest addition to their fleet, TUI Discovery, in Palma this week.

Around 1,000 invited guests were

I

treated to an evening of entertainment featuring performers from destinations visited by the Thomson fleet, including belly dancers, Middle Eastern whirling dervishes, Caribbean carnival dancers in full costume and a beautiful rendition of Puccini's Nessun Dorma.

Highlight of the evening was the arrival on stage of the surprise artist Jess Glynne (watch here) raising the tempo of the evening with a medley of her number one hits. The evening ended with a firework display.

Discovery will be the largest ship in the Thomson fleet with over 900

cabins, 40pc of which will have balconies. The mid-sized ship has a capacity for 1,830 passengers and will initially be based in Palma cruising the Mediterranean before heading to the Caribbean for the winter season.

Features include an outdoor movie screen, rock climbing wall, Broadway show lounge with capacity for over 800 people, two swimming pools, four whirlpool baths, casino, and extensive dining choices. From Summer 2017, TUI Discovery will be the first in the fleet to offer all-inclusive drinks packages as standard.

NEW FERRY TO REPLACE EPSILLON rish Ferries ordered a

€144m new ferry build

with Cinemas, pet facilities and private passenger balconies.

The ferry is designed to replace Epsilon on DublinCherbourg & Dublin-Holyhead with capacity for 165

D

freight vehicles & 300 cars on dedicated car deck, 1,885 passengers and 435 cabins to be built by FSG in Flensburg.

It will have a top speed of 22.5 knots, slightly slower than Epsilon, and meet Europe-wide emissions standards.

The 50,000-tonne cruise ferry maximum capacity will be 1,216 cars or 165 trucks with 3,500 lanemetres, with 2,800 lane metres dedicated to freight (165 freight vehicles) and a separate car deck with capacity for 300 passenger cars.

Maximum speed with be

22.5 knots compared with 24 knots for the Epsilon.

This compares with 500 passengers and 2,860 lanemetres for the Epsilon, 2,000 passengers and 4,101 lanemetres on the Ulysses and 1,440 passengers and 1,220 lanemetres for the Oscar Wilde.

Mike McCarthy, the man who made it happen said that it would raise the profile of all f Ireland’s host ports. .David Dingle gave an overview of the industry which showed that cruise order books are full until

2021 with 61 ships worth $40bn on the order books.

Watch here interview with David Dingle.Cobh, which is anticipating 58 cruise ships this year, plans to refit its cruise terminal at a cost of €10m.

Dun Laoghaire has plans

to extend the berth by 333 metres to accommodate up to 100 ships a year. Last year was a bad year for Dun Laoghaire when weather caused the cancellation of visits from ships scheduled to tender passengers off.

DUBLIN HOSTS CRUISE EUROPE

elegates from 20 countries and 120 member ports at the Cruise Europe conference in Dublin heard that Western Europe was regarded as a safe destination at a difficult time foe cruise lines.

Page 020-021 Afloat 15/06/2016 10:15 Page 2

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 21

AFLOAT

J

BUTTERFLY A HIT

Lorraine Quinn and Jo Rzymowska of Celebrity Cruises

o Rzymowska and Lorraine Quinn of Celebrity Cruises hosted eight groups of agents, media, prize winners and customers on board Celebrity Silhouette on its Dublin call.

Jo Rzymowska said Eastern Med itineraries are going to be good value this year and that Ireland was in the plans for future port calls in 2017, including a re-

turn visit by Silhouette.

She said the butterfly itineraries that Celebrity Equinox is operting out of Barcelona with to Venice, to Rome to Athens were especially popular with Irish cruise customers.. She said Eclipse ourt ofb Southampon and Silhouette out of Amsterdam were doing well. The bog winter success was Abu Dhabi.is

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Aisling O'Sullivan, Niall Cronin and Margaret Cronin of Cronin's coaches who organised the coach transfers from Celebrity Silhouette

DUBLIN’S COACH CRUX

here will be 121 cruise ship calls to Dublin this years compared with 93 last year, and it could stretch the city’s ability to handle cruise tourism to its limits.

Oone of the major cruise ship handlers Margaret Cronin says that Dublin city needs a more coach-friendly approach.

She warns it is becoming impossible

to do a loop of the city’s attractions with a coach with road works and the proposals to pedestrianise College Green.

This year 121 cruise ships will call compared with 93 last year. Last year 137,000 passengers arrived, a figure which would creep up towards 200,000 in 2016. Last July 23 four cruise ships arrived simultaneously in town bringing 30,000 passengers into the city.

With over 55 rides, fantastic live shows and attractions set over 150 acres of parkland, the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort is a family destination that is not to be missed! Plus there are many family adventures to enjoy together with Pirate Falls:Treasure Quest, Viking River Splash, Laser Raiders and the ALL NEW Exclusive 4D Movies at the LEGO 4D Movie Theatre!

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Price includes: • Return Stena Line ferry travel from Dublin to Holyhead, Rosslare to Fishguard or Belfast to Liverpool with your car.

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NO MORE REVERSING

Athanasios Peppas and Christophe Belaubre

hip captain Athanasios Peppas and hotel manager Christophe Belaubre told travel media in Dublin that they looked forward to returning

with Celebrity Silhouette in 2017.

Captain Peppas said that he looked forward to the port development having spent an hour reversing Silhouetter into Dublin “looking backwards.”

Book online at

agent.stenaline.ie or call reservations on 01 907 5399 Prices valid on selected days, dates and sailings, subject to availability. Deduct €53 if only one child travelling.

Terms and conditions apply. Holidays sold by Stena Line Travel Group AB. Fully licensed and bonded (TA0733).

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€

Page 022-024 Flying 15/06/2016 10:22 Page 1

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 22

THE FLYING COLUMN Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

VIRGIN is ordering 12 A350-1000 to replace part of its B747-400 fleet.

EU The 28 EU Transport Ministers autho-

rised the European Commission to start negotiations for EU-level aviation agreements with the ASEAN Nations, Turkey, Qatar and the UAE. The Commission had also proposed to negotiate with China, Mexico and Armenia.

LUFTHANSAs Carstin Spohr caused a delayed-effect storm with a remark in Miami a fortnight agon that 90pc of aircraft managers would like to impose a GDS surcrhagre similar to Lufthana’s. Three US senators want him to pbe prosecuted under anti-trust legislation.

STOBART Air had a new ATR 72 AER LINGUS received a Vueling

A320 and ended the extended A319 lease ffrom Vueling. An Omni B767 has begun operation on Shannon-Boston, initially with a B767-300 rather than the planned 200 for operational reasons.

NORWAY imposed a passenger tax of €8.60 with effect from June 1

DELTA are to launch a Glasgow-JFK route beginning May 26 2017.

RYANAIR launched its Dublin Easter

2017 schedule three months earlier than last year with 80 routes but did not announce any new routes or other growth.

RUSSIA’s state-owned United Aircraft

Corporation rolled out the 211 passenger MC21 e passenger aircraft which is expected to be in service by late 2018 to compete with the Airbus A320neo, and Boeing’s B737 MAX aircraft.

ETIHAD Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Perth made its inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi.

BA British Airways removed economy hot meals from its longest short-haul services including Athens, Istanbul and St Petersburg.

RYANAIR announced 2,000 extra flights across its European network for the October holidays.

CORK Airport will reach 2,225,000 visi-

tors in 2016 if the 8pc increase form the first four months of the year is sustained. An additional 65,000 passengers passed thorugh the airport January to May. New summer services include Dusseldorf with Aer Lingus, Madrid with Iberia Express, Leeds and Southampton with Aer Lingus Regional

IAA Figures from the Irish Aviation Author-

ity show a 10.3pc YOY increase in terminal flight traffic at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports in May with 22,485 flights. Dublin traffic was up 10pc to 18,719 flights, Shannon was up 4.8pc to 1,807 flights and Cork was up 19.6pc to 1,959 flights.

AWAS delivered an A320-200 on lease to

IndiGo and an A320 to VivaAerobus.

QATAR Airways and SriLankan Airlines signed a codeshare agreement.

Captain Adam Mason at the cokcpit of the Bombardier demonstrator and the jet arriving in Dublin

Bombardier show

T

FTV5 comes to Dublin for IATA AGM & conference

he Bombardier demonstrator FTV5 was in Dublin for the IATA conference.

The aircraft, registered C-GWXZ and in Swiss livery, visited Dublin to leverage publicity at the IATA AGM

which was held in Dublin and departed Dublin carrying Star Alliance executive to Zurich.

Swiss will take delivery of their first CS100 about a week or so after the Farnborough Air Show.

Bombardier say the aircraft will be

IRISH AIRPORTS SEE 11PC PASSENGER RISE

C

SO figures for airport use completed the picture for overall passenger numbers at Irish airports in 2015.

Overall numbers at Irish airports were up

D

11.2pc to 37,166,000 from 33,423,000.

Three Irish airports saw a decline in passenger numbers in 2015, with Derry experiencing the sharpest decline of 19pc, Cork down 3.4pc

and Knock down 2.7pc.

Since the figures swere compiled Waterford has lost its last remaning passenger services and joins Galway as a non-commercial airport.

capable of flying non stop from London City to New York, as soon as it is certified for LCY operations. BA currently operate the small Airbus on this route, but it must make a fuel stop at Shannon on the westbound leg.

AIRPORT NUMBERS

Dublin up 15pc to 24,962,518 Belfast Int up 9pc to 4,390,000, Belfast City up 5pc to 2,693,000, Cork down 3.4pc to 2,065,678, Shannon up 8pc to 1,680,272, Knock down 2.7pc to 684,671, Kerry up 2.7pc to 303,039, Derry down 19pc to 284,000, Donegal up 3.2pc to 36,552, Waterford up 3.2pc to 34,249, Indreabhán up 2.7pc 19,753, Inis Mor up 5pc to 12.071.

NEW AUTHORITY TO REGULATE AIR

ublin Airport is anticipating that a new legislative framework relating to operating restrictions will be

put in place.

The DAA considers this important in its decision to move ahead with the second runway at at an estimated cost of €320m,

It is doing so on the understanding with a view to paving the way for the operating restrictions imposed under the planning process to be reviewed by

a new competent Authority.

According to the Department of Transport a statutory instrument is to be signed by mid-June.

he Department of Defence plans to replace five Cessna FR172 aircraft dating from the early 1970s with three larger single engine aircraft These will be equipped

for ISTAR tasks, intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance. .

Two CASA Maritime Patrol Aircraft due for replacement in 2019 will be replaced with larger more

capable aircraft to enhance maritime surveillance and to provide a greater degree of utility for transport and cargo carrying tasks.” T he seven Pilatus PC-9 aircraft, which operate as the main pilot training air-

craft for the Air Corps, are not due for replacement until 2025.

Two EC 135 and six AW 139 helicopters will continue in service.

The Air Corps urrently has 886 personnel.

T

NEW AUTHORITY TO REGULATE AIR

Page 022-024 Flying 15/06/2016 10:22 Page 2

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 23

THE FLYING COLUMN Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

Willie in the chair

W

Third Irishman to hold chair of International Air Travel

illie Walsh has been elected chair of IATA board of governors to succeed Andres Conesa, CEO of Aeromexico, Willie is the 75th Chair of the IATA BoG and the third Irishman to fulfil that function after Jerry Dempsey in 1962 and Alan Joyce in 2012.

The accession was automatic as he was elected vice president last year. In turn Goh Choon Phong CEO of Singapore Airlines will serves as chair-elect for a one-year term to take office from June 2017 following Walsh’s term.

The board members include the CEO of Jetblue, regarded as a low cost airline rather than a legacy

Willlie Walsh: Third Irishman to chair IATA

carrier: :, Vitaly G Saveliev of Aeroflot, Andrés Conesa of Aeromexico, Calin Rovinescu of Air Canada, Alexandre De Juniac of Air France/KLM, Douglas Parker of American Airlines, Harry Hohmeister of Austrian Airlines, German Efromovich of Avianca,

Chu Kwok (Ivan ) Leungn of Cathay Pacific, Liu Shaoyong of China Eastern Airlines, Tan Wangeng of China Southern Airlines, Safwat Musallam of Egyptair, James Hogan of Etihad Airways, Tewolde Gebremariam of Ethiopian Airlines, David Bronczek

of Fedex Express, Mark Dunkerley of Hawaiian Airlines, Masaru Onishi of Japan Airlines, Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways (India) , Robin Hayes of Jetblue Airways, Mbuvi Ngunze of Kenya Airways, Pieter Elbers of KLM, Yang Ho Cho of Korean Air, Enrique Cueto of LAN Airlines, Carsten Spohr of Lufthansa, Alan Joyce of Qantas, Akbar Al Baker of Qatar Airways, Rickard Gustafson of SAS, Saleh Nasser Al Jasser of Saudi Arabian Airlines, Goh Choon Phong of Singapore Airlines, Temel Kotil of Turkish Airlines and Pham Ngoc Minh of Vietnam Airlines.

ETIHAD’s double daily service from

Dublin to Abu Dhabi returns on June 15. The airline will operate a B777-200 3 days a week (Wed, Thur and Fri) for the EY42 (morning departure from DUB). The other 4 days will have a A330. The EY48 (evening departure) will operate using a A330 all days. The A330 will have 262 seats and the B777 has 412 seats

STAR Alliance announced a new IT bag-

gage hub and other technology enhancements, designed to drive efficiency and reduce costs at all the 1,300 airports the Alliance serves. The technology will standardise processes for offairport and self-service check-in and self-tagging, faster and more efficient bag drop process at the airport, and automated travel document validation. The hub is to launch for its member carriers by the end of this year, and will simplify the baggage handling process. It is the latest in a series of plug and play applications supporting by Star’s 27 member airlines.

EMIRATES added a second live in-

flight sports channel enabling passengers on selected B777 and A380 aircraft to watch events including Euro 2016 and Wimbledon

STANSTED announced the installation of 500 additional seats in the departure lounge, and additional body scanners at security.

VLM cancelled Waterford’s last flights.

NEW! Air Canada rouge non-stop service

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Flights conveniently timed to connect with Air Canada’s extensive network serving 60 Canadian and 52 US destinations.

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Page 022-024 Flying 15/06/2016 10:22 Page 3

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JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 24

THE FLYING COLUMN Aviation with Gerry O’Hare

ETHIOPIAN Twenty-five pilots, 35 maintenance technicians, 43 cabin crew and 244 commercial and ground service staff graduated from Ethiopian Airlines’ aviation academy at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, now in its 70th year.

TURKEY In a bid to alleviate the mas-

sive drop in visitor numbers, Turkey increased a subsidy for charter flight operators by 30pc to $7,800 for flights carrying at least 150 passengers between now and August 31.

EMIRATES A380 Speaking to

Travel Extra at the sidelines of the IATA conference in Dublin, Tim Clarke the Emirates president and part-time Lismore resident said that it was a question of when and not if the Emirates A380 comes to Dublin. Prague is among the latest routes to get an A380 service and there are nine more A380s on their way to Emirates in the autumn. What is the timeline?

You'll know, said Tim.

EGYPTAIR Speaking at the sidelines

of the IATA congress in Dublin Egyptar CEO Safwat Musallam said flight MS804 had not experienced any maintenance issues before departure and that the plane was normal. French media reported the Airbus A320's warning systems signalled anomalies three times during the plane's last six rotations before it disappeared, between Asmara in Eritrea, Cairo and Tunis.

UNITED’s sleep-focused Polaris business class service will launch December 1 on intercontinental flights. New pre-departure United Polaris lounges will offer chef-designed preflight dining, spa-like showers and sleep pods.

KERRY Airport chairman Denis Cregan

reported passenger numbers on Kerry-Dublin are up 4pc and load factor, while up 67pc from 56pc, is short of the 75pc target.

MENORCA The Cork-Menorca 1w

service that Lee Travel and Stein Travel had announced using a Cityjet aircraft was cancelled.

DELTA is to launch a new service between Heathrow and Portland, Oregon in May.

NIGHT FLIGHT restrictions in An Bord Pleanála’s planning approval for a new runway at Dublin airport may be set aside after EU legislation comes into force this month.

TURKISH Airlines announced their

sponsorship of Hillsborough Oyster Festival August 30 to September 4 in Hillsborough Castle Oyster.

COMPLAINT Alex Hamberger from

Buffalo New York wrote a contender for airline complaint letter of the year and persuaded American Airlines to waive a $200 change fee.

CAPA Airlines in transition returns to Powerscourt, Co Wicklow for the fifth year in succession in March 2017

IAG Willie Walsh said Iberia’s Luis Gallego

or BA’s Alex Cruz were potential successors as IAG CEO.

Cityjet’s new Superjet touches down in Dublin, picture by Mike Kelly

Superjet arrives

C

Cityjet are first western airline to use Russian aircraft

ityjet’s first two Sukhoi SSJ100 arrived in Dublin from Venice at the beginning of June and was used to transport the Irish soccer team to the European championship.

The CityJet aircraft is in a 98-seat configuration with an exclusive interior designed by Pininfarina, five abreast seating in a generous 32” seat pitch combining with a wider seat and cabin height of over 2m.

Sukhoi foresees the Superjet 100 being certificated for steep landing approaches at London City airport in 2017.

The aircraft will require modifications, including winglets and software

V

changes for operations from Cityjet’s signature airport.

Sukhoi 4say hardware design has been completed and existing aircraft can be retrofitted with the additional equipment.

CityJet becomes the first Western European airline to operate the Superjet SSJ100. CityJet will lease 15 Superjet SSJ100 aircraft with an option for an additional 16, taking delivery of three aircraft in 2016, with the remainder from 2017 onwards.

SuperJet International will also provide CityJet with the technical support through a SuperCare agreement for 12 years. CityJet crews are being trained at the Training Centre

in Venice.

CityJet currently employs 670 staff at bases in Finland, France, Ireland, Sweden and the UK and operates a fleet of 18 Avro RJ85s and 8 Bombardier CRJ900s (on wet-lease to SAS).

Pat Byrne, Executive Chairman of CityJet, said: “this is a fantastic aircraft and we look forward to introducing our customers to its high levels of comfort and efficiency in the coming years”.

The Superjet SSJ 100 achieved European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification in 2012.

The deal is worth US$1bn, including options and after-sales services

ROUGE COMMENCES VANCOUVER

ancouver, until now the tenth most important indirect route out of Dublin airport now has a direct service.

Air Canada Rouge lanuched their new 3w service at the beginning of June, Dublin airport’s second marquee route of

A

the year commenced on June 10, and the fifth to Canada. Air Canada Rouge fly to Vancouver 3w direct.

It is one ofthe few widebodies to Canada (Air Transat has 2 A330s per week and 1 A310 to Toronto.).

The 280-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft offers a

two class configuration, operating until October 9. Flights depart Dublin at 11.35 on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, arriving at 13.35 in Vancouver. The return service will depart Vancouver at 15.05 arriving in Dublin at 08.35 the next morning.

Harry Miller, Margaret Skinner, Stephen Gerrard and John Hurley

AerCAP DELIVERS A350 TO CATHAY

engus Kelly’s AerCAP delivered Cathay Pacific’s first A350.

The Dublin leasing com-

pany has become an A350 specialist. AerCap’s fleet of 1,670 is bigger than IAG, Lufthansa & Ryanair combined Aengus Kelly told a

briefing on aviation in Ireland at the IATA AGM in Dublin that 43pc of aircraft are leased, up from 12pc just 15 years ago but that market share would be

difficult to increase because of the scale of finance that would need to be raised.

Page 025-026 Agent 15/06/2016 14:27 Page 1

Inside the Travel Business

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 25

GLOBAL VILLAGE

TRAVEL COUNSELLORS

Gearóid Mannion joined Travel Counsellors having closed the Ennis based travel agency founded by his father has closed after 52 years in a move that Travel Counsellors described as “franchise”

BLUE INSURANCES The first

Conference room at the Seafield Hotel in Ballymoney, venue for the Worldchoice conference

Conference month

W

North Wexford venue for Worldchoice conference

orldchoice Ireland are to hold their 2016 conference at Seafield Golf & Spa Resort in Ballymoney near Gorey on Saturday November 19th.

It will be their first conference since 2014 and the first under the stewardship of Carol Anne O'Neill, former Falcon Holidays CEO and Ryanair travel trade relations manager who now heads up the Worldchoice organisation in Ireland.

It means that conferences will be staged on successive weekends in November by Travel centres, Worldchoice and the ITAA. Worldchoice last staged an Irish delegates conference and awards in Ashbourne in 2013, having previously staged conferences and awards ceremonies in Mount Wolseley, Tul-

D

low in 2011, Dunboyne in 2009, Lyrath in Kilkenny in 2007 and Citywest in 2006 and 2002. A planned 2014 conference was postponed when it clashed with two rival awards ceremonies. See pictures of 2013 Worldchoice conference here or connect with the album on Facebook, The membership base in Ireland 52 with 12 based in the north. Prominent members include: Abbey Travel, Dublin, Arrow Tours, Drogheda, Atlantic Travel, Letterkenny, Centre Travel, Dundalk, Club Travel, Curragh Travel, Newbridge.

Dawson Travel, Cork, Dempsey Travel, Trim, Des Abbott Travel, East West Travel, Roscommon Fahy Travel, Galway,

Grenham Travel, Athlone, Grogan Travel, Tuam, Kanes Travel, Longford, Keller Travel, Ballinasloe, Malahide Travel, Mallow Travel, Manning Travel, Kilkenny, McDermott Travel, Westport, McGinnity's Travel, Cavan, Mullaney Travel Ltd, Sligo, Mullingar Travel Navan Travel, O'Driscoll Travel, Macroom, O'Leary's Travel, Enniscorthy, Phoenix Travel, Wicklow.

Scotts Travel, Arklow, Sayit Travel /Shandon Travel, Cork, Strand Travel, Waterford, Tristar Travel, Skerries, Tully's Travel, Carlow,

TRAVEL CENTRES PLANS 2017

ominic Burke of Travel Centres has named the consortium’s conference venue for 2017.

The group hold their 2016 conference for 2016 wil in the Mullingar Park Hotel on November 11th and 12th..

The 2015 event celebrated the 1980’s with a theme of Back to the Future. Dominic Burke of Travel Centres referred to speculation as to what the consortium has in mind for suppliers and delegates this year: ‘All I can say is that

Dominic Burke

it will be fun, entertaining and relevant, just like it is every other year’.

Provisional dates have also been announced for

next year’s event which will take place in the Brehon, Killarney at the INEC on November 18th and 19th 2017.

Previous conferences were: 2005: Keadeen, Newbridge, 2006: Mount Wolseley, Tullow 2007: Castletroy, Limerick 2008: Killeshin, Portlaoise 2009: Sheraton Athlone 2010 & 2011: Clarion IFSC, Dublin (now called the Spencer hotel) 2012-4: Killashee, Naas 2015: Lyrath, Kilkenny The consortium, is Ireland's largest by membership with 56 separate companies who, between them, have 76 outlets.

two winners of the Blue Insurances monthly draw for May were Helena Kilduff from Skytours and Rose Kane from Kane Travel in Longford, celebrating 60 years in business this year. She wins an iPad Mini and is invited to the Grand Final in Dublin in April ‘17 to compete for a Volkswagen Polo. Blue Insurances reminds agents to have their own unique login to make bookings count for their monthly draw, every five Blue Insurances policies sold each month automatically generates an entry.

Agents can win a bonus place at the final by posting, to Facebook or Twitter, a humorous picture or videos featuring themselves with a car with hashtag #DontRenewUnlessItsBlue

GRAINNE CAFFREY has joined Sunway from Low-cost beds. She will look after Club Med, AMA Rivercruise, Trafalgar escorted tours, G Adventure, Neilson, Sunsail and Mark Warner holidays starting in early July. Before Low Cost Beds, Grainne headed up Inghams in Ireland, and previously worked in trade relations for Joe Walsh Tours and Falcon Holidays. See here.

ALAN SPARLING was appointed

GSA in Ireland for OBEO Travel the Scandinavian destination management company, run by Icelandic born Rannveig Snorradottir who has been a big supporter of the trade in Ireland.

There are 22 Irish delegates booked for IPW (formerly Pow Wow) in New Orleans on June 20-24 of which seven are media.

OASIS Travel’s two Belfast branches at Howard Street and Lisburn Road won the customer service excellence, multiple retailer in the Belfast Chamber Business Awards.

WTC World Travel Centre and Selective Travel Management received Investors in People accreditation.

TOPFLIGHT The four winners in the Topflight Hello Summer Family Holiday competition were Marc Lynch from Abbey Travel, Dublin, Michelle McDonagh from Navan Travel, Sheila Deasy from Lee Travel, Princes Street, Cork and Nollaig Ward of Topflight and Caroline O'Toole from Fahy Travel, Galway UNITED Gillian Purser from Marble

City Travel was the winner of the United Airlines and Bookabed incentive to win 2 flights to Washington, New York or Chicago.

PAPERS submitted as part of a legal

case in England claims travel agents allegedly lowered their prices to try and "entice" more holiday makers to Tunisia in the wake of the Bardo Museum attack in March 2015.

CELEBRITY

is currently recruiting for managers for the North East and Scotland and Ireland under a restructuring programme.

Page 025-026 Agent 15/06/2016 14:27 Page 2

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 26

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Inside the Travel Business

BLUE INSURANCES Ciaran

Mulligan of Blue Insurances entertained travel trade at Shelbourne Park on Thursday evening for a pleasant. So how did the gurus of actuarial economics fare with the bookies? Host Ciaran Mulligan was the biggest winner, €60 on one race. but Holly Best of Virgin Atlantic also came out ahead and Jackie Herssens of Travelmood earned a whopping €17 on the last raceMTT launched Engage on eDreams ODIGEO’s mobile offering.

AIR NAMIBIA signed up to Travelport’s Rich Content and Branding SUNWAY It rained for some of Sun-

way’s four night agent fam trip to the Algarve, but did anybody notice? The trip was hosted by the 4* Vila Gale Cerro Alagoa Hotel, Albufeira and the 4* Pestana Alvor Praia Hotel, Alvor.

The group visited some of Sunway’s most popular properties, self-catering apartments to 5 star deluxe hotels in Albufeira, Praia da Oura, Da Balaia, Santa Eulalia, Falesia, Vilamoura, Alvor, Carvoeiro, Portimao and Praia da Rocha. Meals were at Club Med Da Balaia, Epic Sana Algarve Hotel, Monte Santo Resort and some local restaurants where cocktails and Portuguese wines were sampled.

SUPERBREAK is offering a €15 One 4 All voucher to encourage agents who sign up to make bookings through their website before May 31. In order to start booking log in to the agent website, complete and return a direct debit form.

BRAND USA says 930 agents regis-

tered their international flight bookings to the USA, up by 87pc to enter seven megafams which departed this week: 1 Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, 2: Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, 3: Colorado, New Mexico, 4: Nevada, Utah, Arizona, 5: Washington, Oregon, 6: Arizona, Alaska, 7 Heavenly Hawaii: Hawaii, with the seven trips congregating at: Huntington Beach, California .for the finale.

FALCON Helena Christensen has

A

Rhinebound

ITAA Conference confirmed for Uniworld Antoinette

n ITAA board meeting on board Celebrity Silhouette in Dublin on May 31st decided that the 2016 conference should be held on board Uniworld river cruise ship en route form Amsterdam to Cologne.

Aer Lingus has offered a 50pc discount on flights for delegates. Booking opens immediately in the week after the announcement, from June 6 2016.

The date has been set for November 26-28 2016, the week after the CLIA river cruise conference in Amsterdam.

This is the third time that an ITAA conference has been held afloat, previous conferences took place on MSC Poesia in 2008 and on board Royal Caribbean Quantum of the Seas in 2014.

Sharon Jordan, Country Manager, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises

said in a statement: Uniworld Boutique River Cruises are delighted to be holding the Irish Travel Agent Association Conference onboard the luxurious SS Antoinette this November, 26th-28th 2016.

The two night trip will start in Amsterdam, where the agents will board the luxurious ship and stay docked in this magical city throughout the day and night.

On the morning of the 27th the agents will set sail toward the German City of Cologne.

The ITAA conference will take place on Sunday, 27th November to the backdrop of stunning scenery along this region’s majestic waterways.

With the Festive Season and Christmas markets in full swing we anticipate that this will be one of the most exciting conference’s to date.

‘The Travel Corporation’s group of

teamed up with Falcon Holidays and Thomson to create and design an exclusive range of boyfriend shirts to celebrate the luxury longhaul Sensatori resorts.

ATLANTIS Paradise Island’s double cash rewards incentive of up to £40 per booking has been extended until July 31.

WENDY WU

Tours and Emirates are offering agents the chance to win a one night break for two at the Powerscourt Hotel Resort and Spa. Book a tour for travel between September and November before June 30.

PADDY CONDON, formerly of

Aer Lingus, long standing member of TIGS and perhaps the oldest members of the travel community, died at the age of 96. Among the many amazing stories form his life is how he cycled from Dublin to Berlin to attend the 1936 Olympics. The Olympics were boycotted

by Ireland but Paddy set off anyway to watch the events. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis.

Top: SS Antoinette on the Rhine, bottom lounge on board the Antoinette

companies include Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, Insight Vacations, Red Carnation Hotel Collection and Contiki Holidays.

We have always had sincere commitment to the travel trade and are delighted to be in position for agents to experience a river cruise, which is the fastest growing segment of the cruise market.

I’m personally very excited to host up to 100 travel agents onboard who will finally be able to experience the 5-star luxury service, food and standards that makes Uniworld the award winning product that she is today.

Due to the intimate size of river cruise ships, numbers are limited and we expect demand to be very high for this year’s ITAA conference so please book soon to ensure your place onboard the SS Antoinette.

Page 027 window seat 15/06/2016 10:25 Page 1

Last month in numbers

28.7m Number of passengers through Dublin

airport in 2016 if 15pc increase up to May continues

303,039 Number of passngers through Kerry airport, last to declare figures for 2015

1,383 Number of new hotel brands that have launched in the last ten years.

380 Number of Irish travel agents who are currently members of the Club Royal scheme.

141 Number of flights per week from Dublin airport to America this summer, (151 in September) 108 Number of baggage options offered on each Ryanair booking, now down to six since June 1

6: Number of daily flights from Dublin through

N

WINDOW SEAT

HOTEL FOR A NOMADIC INSTINCT

ooteboom revisits 30 years of enlivening travel essays, spanning four continents on a lifetime's journey.

Woven through the stories is his dream of an ideal nomad's hotel.His imaginary room resembles a Balinese hut, with a ceiling fan driven by a buffalo and its picture window overlooking Manhattan.

From his desk he hears the distant crashing of surf on a beach, senses a breath of Galician autumn wind and eats Viennese Sachertorte.

Throughout there is a sense of always floating several inches above the ground lends an appealing mystery to the places he visits.

Nomad's Hotel by Cees Nooteboom is published by Vintage

At the Ritz in Barcelona, the mirror on the cupboard opens toward the bed: “this mirror must have reflected a thing or two, but it remains silent as the earth into which so many of those guests have already disappeared.”

In Zurich he admires the choreography of the swans in the lake. On the great square in Isfahan, where he conjures the heyday of mighty Persian Shah Abbas, who “once stood, lay, or sat, while watching the polo matches and races far below him, the sides of the big terrace closed

off, the silk curtains billowing in the wind.”

Nooteboom get excited about things he doesn’t understand, signs and languages he can’t decipher, a culture that rebuffs him and the refreshing shock of the wholly unknown.

The secret is the intensity with which the author observes his experiences. This is a jewel of a travel book, free of pretension, full of easy adventure, fresh with childlike wonder for the world.

Busman’s holiday: Gonzalo Ceballos

Turkey and the Middle East as of June.

Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Gonzalo Ceballos, Director of the Spanish Tourism Board in Dublin, who wil be departing in July.

I

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 27

t is difficult for me to mention a favourite holiday spot; there are many reasons for this.

One is age, and those moments in life one tends to remember and rejoice about. Another is that there are many different holidays, some for sport and doing activities, others for short breaks and get aways, or just relaxing and enjoying life.

And, not the least, I represent the Spanish tourist board to Ireland, so it would be rather unprofessional to exceed the boundaries of my country.

As a boy I used to travel with my family to Sepúlveda a medieval town in the province of Segovia, now barely an

O

hour’s drive north of Madrid. In those good old days we could be in the car for hours, brothers and sisters singing and playing I Spy. Sepulveda is famous for its privileges (fueros) granted by Alfonso VI in 1076 after it was conquered from the Moors in 940, and for the roasted suckling lamb (cordero asado).

My memory goes back to the central town to the Hoces del Rio Duratón Natural Park, a 12km canyon carved by the river where I used to fish for trout surrounded by gorges packed with Griffon vultures.

I consider this my happy place and still pop by to walk the canyon, chat with friends, have a beer (or two) and enjoy the traditional cordero with some Rivera wine.

With time, and independence, I explored many other holiday spots gliding in Huesca (in the Pyrenees) wine tasting

he playa de Esteiro in Viveiro, good for surfing.

in Haro and Briones (La Rioja) or fishing for salmon in Panes (Asturias) close to the Biosphere Reserve Picos de Europa.

With time, and a girlfriend, it was the turn of coastal villages as Peñiscola or Altea in the Valencia Region, or historic sites as Cáceres, Trujillo or Zafra in Extremadura. The environment and the food were important extras to that essential, a comfortable room.

Once married, I enjoyed discovering new towns and natural protected areas; tasting traditional recipes, local produce and marvellous wines.

Then children came. As many will un-

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

nce Qatar upped their stake holding in IAG, the prospect of Dublin-Doha became a question of when it wil happen and not if.

There are several reasons to be excited by this. Both of our middle eastern incumbents are reporting high load factors and a huge amount of onward business, and are not likely to be affected by the arrival of Qatar. The second is that Qatar have better connections to a

lot of secondary cities in places like thailand.

At the IATA aviation congress in Dublin, the question got different replied depending on whom you asked. Akbar Al Baker said that the route would start next year, while Stephen Kavanagh CEO of Aer Lingus said it was a medium-term project: and that “the only question is whose metal will operate on the route.” The message was that Qatar should do it.

Aer Lingus have reason to be cautious. Dermot Mannion’s foray into Dubai ten years ago was mistimed,. Onward connections with Emirates were difficult to secure thanks to an aircraft availability crisis caused by the assault on the Emirates owned Sri Lankan fleet by the Tamil tigers.

Five years ago when we enquired about the prospects of Qatar opening Dublin-Doha the reply was “three is a crowd.’ No longer.

derstand, with children there must always be a beach, or other water feature, nearby. Since then we usually alternate north and south (with a luxury break to Lanzarote and Fuerteventura).

My hotspots in the north are Berria (Cantabria), Baiona and Viveiro (Galicia) where there is good surfing, and you can enjoy the food and wine, and local fiestas.

And in the south Mazagón and Punta Umbria in Costa de la Luz (Andalucía) where we walk along the beaches, have coquinas and, in the evening, a very well deserved gin and tonic mesmerised by stunning sunsets.

IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Available to Travel Agents or online August 22 2016

AUSTRALIA ISSUE Fraser and Lady Elliot islands Daylesford BEDBANKS Technology

Page 028 - 30 pics 15/06/2016 17:19 Page 1

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 28

MEETING PLACE Out and about with the Travel Trade

Conroy and Ksenija Jenny Barnwall, Claire s at the Blue Insurnce ura Tukuma of Blue Ins rne Park ances event at Shelbou

Des Manning of Manning Travel and Cormac Meehan of Meehan Travel Bundoran President of the ITAA on board Celebrity Silhouette

Fiona Dobbyn of Classi c Resorts and Brendan Barry of Discover Travel attending TTM Plus in Chiang Mai in Thailand

Ben Greene of Arrow Tours, Mark Clifford of O'Hanrahan Travel and Pearse Keller of Keller Travel on board Celebrity Silhouette in Dublin,

Valerie O'Reilly of Unico rn PR and Thomas Mc Nally of Bedsonline at the Blue Insurances eve nt at Shelbourne Park

Fred Bickmore of Virgin Team England members wof Visit Florida, John Bo Holidays, Colin Brodie Air tish Keith Chuter of Bri den of THG Holidays, y of Atlantic Cit ways and Greg Evans

e rthern Incoming Servic Yihua Zhou, Maeve Slalom and Jason Whelan of Roisin Hankey of the ITAA, Joe Tully Chelo Escabias of No of Tully of tt bo Ab s De d an ytours Blue Insurances at the Blue Insurances event at Travel and Pat Dawson CEO of the ITA Bilbao, Jim Bergin of Sk A on nt board Celebrity Silhoue Bilbao Tourism eve Shelbourne Park tte in Dublin, Des Abbott Travel at the

Front 9 winner Miriam Skelly at the Travel Ind ustry Golf Society outing in Mount Juliet sponso red

by Turkish Airlines, wit h Julie Curran of Turkis h

Sharon Jordan of The Travel Corporation and Marc Kaminetsky from Valley Forge at the Pennsylvania & American airlines event at Halo

Clem Walshe of Lowcost beds and Mark Clifford P and Yvonne Muldoon Gillian Culhane of AerCA of O’Hanrahan Travel at the TIGS outing in ad in g efin bri n atio h avi of Aer Lingus at the Iris Mount Juliet sponsored by Turkish Airlines at the RDS vance of the IATA AGM

Paula Coughlan of tra velcheaper.ie and Paul Dawson of Dawson tra vel.ie at Iberia Express’ s event for the new servic e from Cork to Madrid,

Pat Dawson CEO of the ITAA and Maureen Ledwith of Business Exhibtions at the Andalusia event in Trinity College, Dublin

Galligan Travel and John Galligan of John bao and Bizkaia Tourism Tamara Plaza at the Bil e event cas and Destination Show

Inmaculada Bernabeu, SpanishTB Sara Rivero Lopez, Spanish TB, Sil e McArdle and Cristina Laiseca, Basque DMCs at the Bilbao event

LinRuth McKeever of Aer Darren McCarthy and A IAT the at nd sta s gu gus manning the Aer Lin M AG

Page 028 - 30 pics 15/06/2016 17:19 Page 2

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 29

MEETING PLACE Out and about with the Travel Trade

ula Ramsey of American Nikki Atkinson and Pa port lebrity Silhouette on a Holidays on board Ce visit to Dublin

Adrienne Ledwidge, Ky m Farrell and Jackie Coghlan of Blue Insura nces at the Blue Insurances event at Shelbou rne Park,

Airways at the Pennsyl Tara Magee form British s event at Halo, vania & American airline

Rita Cosgrove of Cill Da ra Travel and Karen Slegg of Celebrity Cru ises on board Celebrity Silhouette in Dublin,

ice Butler at the Bilbao Stephen Meyler and Jan e d Destination Showcas and Bizkaia Tourism an event

Maureen Lediwth and Edmund Hourican of Bu siness Exhibitions with Mic helle Anderson of Topflight at the Bilbao and Bizkaia Tourism eve nt

Tracey McCormack, Alessia Vozza and Suzanne Maura Moloney of Dublin Airport and Mark Wade of Travelfinders at the Cadogan of Blue Insurances at the Blue InsurIrish Travel Industry Tra de Sh ow at the D4 hotel, ances event at Shelbourne Park,

Tom Kiernan of Ask Susan, Tanya Airey of Sunway and Carmel Aylward of King Travel at the Sunway and Holland America cruise line event

eokabed and Mairead Ke Colleen Butler from Bo & ia van syl nn Pe the at gan from Innstant Travel at Halo nt eve s line air can eri Am

Peter O’ Hanlon, Keith Chuter, Dermot Merrigan and Volker Lorenz at the Ireland v England golf challenge at Mount Juliet,

Pamela Fagan and Sa rah Butterly of Blue Ins urances at the Blue Insura nces event at Shelbourne Park,

Pradeep Chandran and Ann Mullins of The Travel Broker on board Celebrity Silhouette in Dublin

vid erican Airlines and Da Dave Thomas from Am vasyl nn Pe the Sky at Hayeems from American nt at Halo eve s line air can eri nia & Am

Overall winner Martin Dempsey with Onur Gul and Martin Skelly at the TIGS outing in Mount Juliet sponsored by Turkish Airlines

Jeff Kenna of Best4tra vel and Martina ElliottBlock of Elliott Travel at the Sunway and Ho lland America cruise line eve nt in the Dylan Hotel,

Clare Dunne of Travel Broke and Shane Cullen of Killiney Travel at the Pennsylvania & American airlines event at Halo,

r at the TIGS outing in Don Shearer, pin winne Coade, Julie Curran of Mount Juliet with Tom S Captain Tanya Airey Turkish Airlines and TIG

Page 028 - 30 pics 15/06/2016 17:19 Page 3

JULY/AUGUST 2016 PAGE 30

MEETING PLACE Out and about with the Travel Trade

ing Stephen Kavanagh sitt Christoph Mueller and in ss gre on A C g the IAT at the gala dinner durin Dublin

Declan Power, Onur Gu l and Cormac O'Conne ll at the Travel Industry Golf Society outing in Mount Juliet sponsored

by Turkish Airlines,

Cross of Platinum Justine Cross and Paula p rity Silhouette on a shi Travel on board Celeb visit in Dublin

Clodagh Oxley and De e Burdock of Visit USA Ireland at the Pennsyl vania & American airline s event at Halo,

urances and Jackie Ian Kennedy of Blue Ins at the Blue Insurances od mo Herssons of Travel rk, event at Shelbourne Pa

Silvija Zalepugiene, tra vel writer, and Teresa Laiseca of Falcon & Th omson Holidays at the Bilbao and Bizkaia Tou rism Showcase event

Nicola Yorke of Justsplit and Ciara Mooney of Freedom Travel at the Sunway and Holland America cruise line event in the Dylan Hotel,

Mary Denton of Sunway and Yvonne O'Donoghu e of O'Donoghue Travel Gorey at the Sunway and Holland America cruise line event in Dublin

Dawn Alan O'Rourke of Blue Insurances and Holly Best Maria Neary of O'Callaghan travel and Holland d an ay nw the Su of Virgin Atlantic at the Blue Insurances event at Conway of Sunway at tel, Ho lan Dy the in nt Shelbourne Park America cruise line eve

David Giles of Giles Travel, John Cassidy of John Cassidy Travel and Phil Cook of P and P Associates at Ireland v England golf challenge

Jon Woolf and Vincen t Harrison fo Dublin Air port pictured with Karam Ch and of Royal Brunei at Guinness Storehouse during the ITAA Congres s

Majella Greene and Shauna McGuill of McGuill holidays and Jackie ddy Dunne of American tte Travel at the Sunway and Holland America cruise Pa board Celebrity Silhoue Spain of JK Travel on line event in the Dylan Hotel, Dublin May in Dublin,

John Bowden of Team England with Martin Skelly and Martin Dempsey from Team Ireland and and Colin Brodie of Team England at the

Tom Britton of Marble City Travel and Deirdre sweeny of Sunway at the Pennsylvania & American airlines event at Halo

Mary McKenna of Tou r America and Karen Ma loney of Etihad at the Blu e Insurances event at Shelbourne Park,

s A and Des Abbott of De Jean Maxwell of the ITA in tte ue ho the Celebrity Sil Abbott Travel on board Dublin,

page 039 12/05/2016 12:10 Page 1

UL Arena, Limerick SATURDAY 18th & SUNDAY 19th FEBRUARY 2017 EXHIBITOR PROFILE • Adventure Travel

• Hotels

• Airlines

• National and Regional Tourist Organisations

• Airports • Caravans & Motorhomes

• Overseas Property

• International Camping Sites

• Weddings & Honeymoons

• Car Rental Companies

• Over 55’s Holidays

• Coach Tours

• Rail Holidays

• Cruise Companies

• Theme & Leisure Parks

• Ferries

• Travel Agents / Tour Operators

• Golf • Escorted Tours

• Travel Related Services

• Health Tourism

• Tourist Attractions

• Home Holidays

• Travel Accessories

BOOK YOUR STAND NOW! VENUE

2017 DATE AND TIMES

ORGANISERS

CONTACTS

UL Arena University of Limerick Limerick Ireland t: +353 (0)61 213 582 www.ulsport.ie

Saturday February 18th 12.00pm - 5.30pm

Business Exhibitions Limited 59 Rathfarnham Road Dublin, D6W AK70 Ireland t: +353 (0)1 295 7418 f: +353 (0)1 295 7417

Maureen Ledwith - Sales Director t: +353 (0)1 291 3700 f: +353 (0)1 295 7417 e: maureen@bizex.ie

Sunday February 19th 12.00pm - 5.30pm

Paulette Moran - Sales Manager t: +353 (0)1 291 3702 f: +353 (0)1 295 7417 e: paulette@bizex.ie

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VENUE RDS Simmonscourt • Simmonscourt Road Ballsbridge • Dublin 4

EXHIBIT Please contact Maureen Ledwith, Sales Director t: + 353 (0)1 291 3700 e: maureen@bizex.ie or Paulette Moran t: + 353 (0)1 291 3702 e: paulette@bizex.ie

DUBLIN - Holiday World 2017 Show dates

BELFAST - Holiday World 2017

RDS SIMMONSCOTURT

An initiative of the ITAA supported by Travel Centres, Worldchoice Show datesand Travelsavers

TITANIC EXHIBITION CENTRE

Fri

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10am - 1pm

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Fri

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1pm - 6pm

Trade and Public

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Jan 21st

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Jan 28

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