Travel Extra March 2019

R U TRAVEL AWARDS THE 2019 WINNERS O E RYANAIR PLANNING THE NEXT STAGE Y AD FERRIES WB YEATS ARISES AND GOES TR PER PA

Holiday World: the low down

Dublin airport’s dilemma

Out and about

IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION Free

MARCH 2019

VOLUME 24 NUMBER 3

Cloud nine Irish travel trade salutes its champions

SUMMER 2019

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MARCH 2019 PAGE 3

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NEWS

Shenzhen next

Hainan surprise 2w service to city beside Hong Kong

S

henzhen is the latest city to get a direct service from Ireland.

The B787-8 route from Hainan is one of 29 new routes from Irish airport in 2019, not counting winter services that have been extended into summer.

The China services to Hong Kong and Beijing commenced last year are not being joined as yet, by an anticipated route to Singapore.

Canada gets new services to Calgary and a Norwegian route to Hamilton, Toronto’s second airport last served from Ireland by Flyglobespan.

The Westjet service to St John’s is being transferred to Halifax. Other routes that have been lost include the Flybe service to Southend which is being replaced by Ryanair, subject to Brexit agreements.

sonal with Ryanair next summer.

CALGARY Westjet

Dublin from

Claire Doherty and Travel Extra’s Eoghan Corry on board Hainan

St John’s service April 20

KEFLAVIK: Dublin service from Icelandair went daily from October, competing with Wow.

listing a Sheremetyevo service.

NICE: Aer Lingus from Cork resumes May 1

SHENZEN: Hainan start a

third Chinese route February 25

COLOGNE:

Dublin

weekly from Ryanair,

Shannon

DALAMAN

Dublin 1w from Ryanair, new for 2018.

DALLAS

LISBON TAP launches Dublin double daily, opening S America.

MARRAKESH: Dublin 2w resumed Ryanair route after short interruption.

American will link Dublin daily to Texas next year.

MINNEAPOLIS Aer

Aer Lingus

MONTREAL: One of two

DUBROVNIK from Cork

HALIFAX Westjet move their

WTA The controversial World Travel Awards sent out its annual “call for entries” from categories covering aviation, tourist attractions, car hire, cruise, destinations, hotels & resorts, meetings & events, travel agencies, tour operators and travel technology

MOBILE PHONES Vienna Woods Country House Hotel in Glanmire is offering Valentine’s night breaks where guests give up their mobile phones at reception.

KIEV Dublin 2w seasonal with CARLISLE Dublin 7w from Ryanair next summer.

Loganair scheduled for spring 2019.

again with 2,049,272 Irish visitors last year, up 0.2pc and figures from Spain’s Institute of Statistics showed a major jump (13.5pc) in Irish visitors in December, with 94,029 travelling.

SAUSAGE A butcher in Germany has opened a sausage-themed hotel, which he believes to be the world’s first, the charmingly alliterative Boebel Bratwurst Bed and Breakfast in Rittersbach

DESTINATIONS TO WATCH

BODRUM Dublin 2w sea-

SPAIN’s popularity was reinforced yet

Lingus 2019 destination.

new 2019 Aer Lingus destinations.

MOSCOW: Pobedoa are

SPLIT: Ryanair June 1 from

TALLINN Dublin 1w from Air Baltic starts March 31

CHINA Pilots in China have been banned from smoking on the flight deck during domestic flights.

WEST BANK Amnesty International has appealed to travel sites such as Airbnb to ban listings from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

EGYPT opened Sphinx International Airport, situated near the pyramids in Giza, for an initial trial period, in a bid to ease pressure from Cairo’s main airport.

SOUTH AFRICA Tourism launched its campaign: ‘Meet Your South Africa’ to showcase experiences delivered by charismatic local guides. One of these, Thoko Jili from KZN, spoke at Holiday World in Dublin last month.

TORONTO:

DUBAI Dnata reported a 63.5pc increase in travel from the UAE to Ireland since visa free-travel for Emiratis to Ireland in early 2018.Dubai Parks & Resorts said finance is no longer available to build Six Flags Dubai

VIENNA: Dublin 2w from

vice in Kenya to a high degree of caution

TEL AVIV: Dublin 1w from

Arkia Israel

Norwegian commence Hamilton on March 31.

Lauda, competing with Aer Lingus.

KENYA The DFA have upgraded the ad-

SAY ‘I DO’ IN PAPHOS, CYPRUS Picturesque beaches, ancient temples and harbour-side nightspots. Paphos wedding and honeymoon packages available. *T&Cs apply. TUI is a trading name of TUI Ireland Limited and is fully licensed and bonded by CAR T.O.021.

2020

WEDDI

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Now ava GS il a to book*ble

MARCH 2019 PAGE 4

THE KNOWLEDGE Travel Extra Clownings, Straffan, Co Kildare (+3531) 2913707 Fax (+3531) 2957417 Editor: Eoghan Corry eoghan.corry@ travelextra.ie Publisher: Edmund Hourican edmund@bizex.ie Sales Director: Maureen Ledwith maureen@bizex.ie Sales Manager Paulette Moran paulette@bizex.ie t: +353 (0)1 291 3702 Accounts and Advertising: Maria Sinnott maria@bizex.ie Sunday Supplement & Online: Mark Evans markevanspro@gmail.com Chief Features Writer: Anne Cadwallader anne@travelextra.ie Contributors : Marie Carberry marie@travelextra.ie Carmel Higgins carmel@travelextra.ie Cauvery Madhavan cauvery@travelextra.ie Catherine Murphy cathmurph@yahoo.com Aileen O’Reilly aileencoreilly@gmail.com

Editor Emeritus: Gerry O’Hare Travel Extra takes no responsibility for errors and omissions.

Distribution Manager: Shane Hourican shane@bizex.ie Origination: Typeform

Printer: WG Baird Limited Caulside Drive Greystone Rd Antrim BT41 2RS

Contact +35387-2551675 if you have difficulty getting Travel Extra.

CONTENTS

3 News Holiday world 6 ITIA Awards: This year’s winners

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www.travelextra.ie

26 Jamaica: Anne Cadwallader report 24 Afloat: Yeats says hello 26-30 Flying: Airline and airport news 31 Travel writers: this yar’s winners

34 Global Village Inside the travel industry 35 Window seat: Our columnists 36 Pictures: Out and about

Travel Insurance

any people have a fixation on price as the determining factor when choosing travel insurance. But there is a substantial difference between policies in terms of coverage, the level of excesses and what cover is available only as an optional extra.

BUSINESS

travel is not covered by 25pc of annual policies and is an optional extra for 28pc of them. Cover is standard with 47pc of annual policies.

SEPARATION A third of

annual policies won’t provide cover for your children (or stepchildren) if they don’t live with you.

CHILDREN

travelling independently are not covered by half of all annual policies and other insurers are likely to regard children as travelling independently even if one parent puts them on a plane and the other collects them when they get off. They insist that children are accompanied by a responsible adult for the whole journey.

WINTER sports

bills for medical treatment abroad can be huge, despite this, a fifth of skiers don’t bother with insurance at all, while only a third of those who do buy a policy check that it covers them for winter sports.

Just 30pc of annual travel policies include winter sports cover as standard, while 63pc

You never know when and where: Ambulance in Benidorm

offer it as an optional extra and 7pc don’t include it at all. Check the terms carefully. Some exclude off-piste skiing altogether, others insist that you have a guide, for example. Many policies restrict the amount of skiing you can do within the year.

AIRLINE fail-

ure is covered by just 34pc of annual policies provide this cover as standard, while it is an optional extra for 4pc of annual policies; 62pc don’t provide cover at all. However, the elaborate bonding scheme does not cover most ticketonly air fares you buy direct from an airline.

Some charge no excess at all, but others charge as much as u500 of a claim before you receive a penny from your insurance. With medical expenses the average excess is u85, with a range of zero to u600. For cancellation, the average excess is u80, with individual insurers charging anything from nothing to u300.

For loss of deposit is the average is u40 and maximum u300; the equivalent figures are u80 (maximum u250) for lost baggage, u10 (maximum u120) for delayed baggage and u80 (maximum u420) for legal expenses.

Three quarters EXCESS limits on AGE of annual policies have your insurance can vary widely according from one insurer to another.

a maximum age of 75 years or less, and 27pc have a maximum age of

65 or less. It is essential that any pre-existing medical conditions are declared to the relevant provider as failing to do so could invalidate the policy.” Cover might already be there from your bank as part of your current account. Although “packaged accounts” are much maligned, they can offer the elderly a cheap way to get travel cover.

Even where insurers did not have maximum age limits, premiums are often so high as to be unaffordable. One policy has a maximum age of just 34.

LENGTH of holiday is important. Some policies allow you to be overseas for a maximum of 17 consecutive days, 45pc of annual policies limited trip coverage to 31 days abroad while

others will cover you even if you are abroad every day of the year.

BREAKING the journey could invalidate your insurance, if you have a backpacker policy but need to come home for a few days, some insurers won’t cover you when you resume your travels. Coverage will automatically cease for 57pc of backpacker policies, regardless of whether or not you intend to resume their travels abroad.

PETS If your return

from holiday is delayed, will your travel insurance cover the cost of an extended stay in kennels for your pets? Fortysix per cent of policies provide such cover, with limits typically varying from u50 to u750.

MARCH 2019 PAGE 6

ITIA AWARDS 2019

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All the award winners pose for their annual photograph, wo tables made a big difference.

The Irish Travel Industry Awards at the Round Room in the Mansion house reduced capacity by two tables this year.

The idea was to improve manoeuvrability around the room for the 505 guests. And it worked.

Maureen Ledwith and Edmund Hourican won the service to the industry award and deserve another award for delivering the shortest speech of any recipients so far.

John Spollen and his team at Cassidy Travel and Mark Clifford and the tam at O’Hanrahan’s Travel in Monaghan were popular winners of the Travel Agency of the year. O’Hanrahan’s were last on the podium in 2013 when there was a

And the winners are: Four travel awards recipients make it nine years in a row

single category for travel agencies of all sizes.

CWT and Atlas shared the corporate award.

The individual awards went to Ann Mullins of The Travel Broker for leisure travel professional of the year and Cara Barry of CTM the corporate travel professional award.

The coveted long haul airline award was won

by Emirates for the third time after an Etihad four in a row.

Rebecca Kelly, about to move from MSC to Princess, won supplier rep for the fourth time in five years, from a short

Award compere Miriam O’Calaghan

list that included 2013 winner Lee Osborne of Bookabed, Brian Hughes of United; Martin Penrose of Ifonly and Jeanette Taylor of Sunway.

Karl Tyrrell’s Bookabed won the accommodation supplier award for the seventh time in eight years having ceded it three years ago.

Amadeus regained the supplier support team award after five years, it was won last year by Bookabed and the previous two years by MSC. Five award winners were winning nine in a row, Aer Lingus in the best airline to Europe cat-

egory (they retained best airline to North America as well), Irish Ferries for best cruise company.

Amadeus as the best technology provider and Lanzarote for best winter destination.

The Spanish Tourist Board won its eighth successive award for best tourist board since it was introduced in 2012 Uniworld won the specialist cruise operator for the seventh time since the category was introduced in 2013.

Barcelona has won or shared best European city destination for the eight years awarded,

Austria won the best ski destination for each the seven years awarded and Universal Orlando the world theme park award for each of its seven years it has been awarded.

Wendy Wu, a first time winner last year, won two tour operator awards for long haul and specialist, and G Adventures followed up their success for best specialist tour operator last year to win best escorted tour operator.

Las Vegas was a worthy first time winner, taking the spot won by New York for eight successive years.

The lubrication began, as with so many great nights in the city of Dublin, in Sam’s Bar where Sharon Jordan and The Travel Corporation team hosted the thirsty travel professionals of Ireland before the awards ceremony began.

Afterwards it was back to Sam’s Bar in pursuit of the award for the last man or woman standing.

Roll on 2020, back to the Round Room in the Mansion House and Miriam O’Callaghan, hopefully, imploring ciúnas.

To paraphrase the Thomas Davis song, irrigation once again.

Service to the industry recipients Edmund Hourican and Maureen Ledwith

MARCH 2019 PAGE 08

ITIA AWARDS 2019

Kathryn MacDonnell of The Spanish Tourist Board, category sponsor Stephen Sands of Riviera Travel with Teresa Gancedo and Teresa Gancedo of the Spanish Tourist Board, pain has been Ireland’s leading sun TOURIST BOARD: SPANISH destination for TOURIST BOARD seven decades with a consistent performance of attracting around 1.8m over 7,500 completing to Murcia city and serves visitors since the industry the Camino in 2018. Re- the coastal resorts by bus first moved from pilgrim- member there are other as well as taxis and car ages to more exciting routes apart from the rental.

To discover all the holiday escapades in the most well-known French route. adventures and possibil1950s.

The Prado Museum ities of joy that our counTeresa Gancedo, who has been director of the celebrates its 200th birth- try can offer see www. day and to commemorate spain.info or contact the Dublin office says “This year sees Spain such a big event it pre- Spanish Tourism Office continuing to be the top sents an exhibition that in Dublin (Dublin@tourleisure tourism destina- will inaugurate an ambi- spain.es) We are honoured to tion for the Irish market tious program of activand we acknowledge the ities for the Bicentennial. receive ITAA awards this The exhibition pro- year for Best Tourist Ofrole of the airlines in poses a chronological fice, Best Winter Destinmaintaining and expanding air access with over journey, articulated in ation for Lanzarote and 30 routes between our eight stages, through the Best European city for countries in the Summer history of the museum, Barcelona. We are humrevealing the evolution bly grateful for this recseason.

Our destinations and of the institution and how ognition of our office’s resorts continue to invest it has been a reflection of presence in the market and efforts with the trade. in refurbishing and up- the history of Spain.

For tennis fans, Madrid We hope to continue to grading town centres and is hosting the tennis Davis be of service to the agents boardwalks with the exCup in 2019 which will during 2019 and look foramples of the Camino de Ronda in Salou and the see the best international ward to seeing you for nearly completed Malaga players visit and play the ITAA conference in coastal path (which next in the city. Almeria is Cordoba.”.

Shortlist: Las year will go from Nerja the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy for 2019 Vegas; New York; to Estepona).

In the north of Spain and over 300 events are Portugal; South Africa. Previous winthe Camino de Santi- planned to celebrate it.

In Murcia the new air- ners:2012-3-4-5-6-7-8 ago continues to attract many Irish people with port was opened in Janu- Spain. ary. This airport is close

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Category sponsor Emma McHale of Hertz with Mary Denton, Jeanette Taylor and Tanya Airey of Sunway, unway won the European tour operator making it 13 EUROPEAN SUN TOUR awards in three categories OPERATOR: SUNWAY in the history of the awards.

Tanya Airey commented impressive cliffs and beautiful, intimate “2019 got off to a great start for Sun- sandy coves and so there is something way. We were delighted to win the Best for all the family there.

Sun Tour Operator at the ITAA Travel Other Sunway destinations such as Industry Awards and the Irish Independ- Salou, Costa Del Sol and Bulgaria are ent Reader’s Choice Award. still in high demand also – their great It was great to get the affirmation value and lively resorts are gaining from both our travel industry colleagues popularity with our customer base aged and the consumer. under 25.

We really appreciate all the support On long haul it was all about flexibiland business from travel agents. Holi- ity. Customers are booking seven-night day World was really good for Sunway Caribbean or Mediterranean cruises and too. Bookings were strong at the show adding a city break to the cruise. and also to our call centre in the days We are getting strong bookings too around the show. on the brand new MSC BELLISSIMA We have seen a definite swing to- with its two Cirque Du Soleil shows and wards the value of a Package holiday its desert themed water park.

– with airlines charging for baggage It takes all-inclusive to a new level and other extras now, our packages are and our customers are loving it. Orupfront with price and represent as good lando is popular too as well as flexible value. with hotel and rental home deals around Customers are also interested in the the parks. Another trend we are seeing advice and skill of our sales staff and is that customers are again booking in travel agents in suggesting options in advance. line with holiday wish lists and budgets.

Customers like the larger choice There are already definite trends for available earlier. Also if they are look2019. Turkey is great value - the Turk- ing for something specific like a 3 bedish lira has dropped 35 percent over the room apartment, a good hotel on the past year so resorts like Kusadasi and beach or one of the top family properBodrum are great value and have lots of ties with excellent kids facilities, they cultural activity as well as great coast- want to make sure that they have that lines and beach fun. locked down.

Cascais and Estoril on the Lisbon Overall, I was delighted with a great coast are booking solidly in larger num- start to 2019 and hopefully, it will conbers than before. tinue to be buoyant for 2019.

Cascais owing to its noble history is Shortlist: Classic Collection; Topuncommonly rich in beautiful architec- flight; TUI. Previous winners:2011 ture, free museums and carefully main- Sunworld, 2012 Thomas Cook, 2013-4tained parks, as well as its coastline of 5-6-7-8 Sunway.

Category sponsor Carlota Farrial of Portaventura and Tom Randles of J Barter Travel/Travelnet,

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Barter travel in Cork won the best marketing campaign for a travel agency.

Shortlist: Tour America; ClickandGo. Previous winners:2018 Cassidy Travel.

MARKETING CAMPAIGN SHOPFRONT: BARTER TRAVEL

Tanya Airey – Managing Director, Sunway - Ireland’s Favourite Travel Agent / Tour Op, at the Irish Independent Reader Travel Awards.

More than a fleeting success

N287

A big thank you to everybody who voted to name Irish Ferries as ‘Best Ferry Company’ once again at the Irish Travel Industry Awards.

We are delighted with our new addition W.B. Yeats and look forward to sailing with you and your clients very soon.

Get in touch: Ireland Trade Support 0818 300 400 N.I. Trade Support 00353 818 300 400 tradesupport@irishferries.com www.irishferries.com

MARCH 2019 PAGE 10

ITIA AWARDS 2019

Marie O’Sulivan, Emer Peel, Lisa Rabbitte, category sponsor Edel Redmond of Dublin Airport, Enda Corneille, Anita Thomas, Jane Masterson, Helena Sheehan, front row: Filippo Rocchi, Lofti Tenimi and Gerry O’Reilly

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mirates retained the long haul award as they increased LONG HAUL AIRLINE: capacity on their double EMIRATES daily flights from Dublin to Dubai.

“When we said we were going to more customers combining the destinstart operate from Ireland people said ation with Cambodia, for example into we were nuts,” Country manager Enda Saigon and out of Phnom Penh. AuckCorneille says. land and Melbourne remain hugely “We are one of the largest airline popular too as well as Bangkok and brands in the world but take nothing for Phuket. Of course Dubai continues to granted, so we are thrilled to once again excite with new attractions, hotels and be voted by our industry peers for this theme parks coming on stream all time Best Long Haul Airline award.

– make sure you check out the La Mer “Being voted Best Long haul Airline area (think beachfront Santa Monica!) at the recent ITAA awards was the perWith new aircraft deliveries all time, fect start to what will be another very Emirates are always innovating to imbusy year for Emirates Ireland. This prove our customer’s on-board experiprestigious award, as voted by the ence. Don’t forget to remind customers Irish Travel Trade, is a huge honour to check out the Emirates App where and reflects a team effort in consistently they can create bespoke playlists from providing a reliable and professional over 4,000 channels of on-board enterservice to our travel trade partners and tainment ahead of their flight and sync of course a great customer experience it to their seats once on board. on the ground and in the air to all our Shortlist: Aer Lingus; Etihad Airflyers. ways; Qatar Airways; Turkish Airlines.

With the Rugby World Cup coming Previous winners:2011-2-3-4-5 Etihad, up fast, unsurprisingly, Japan is very 2016-7-8 Emirates popular for 2019. Vietnam continues to enthral and we are seeing more and

Grant Daley of Universal, Category sponsor Caitriona Toner of American Airlines,and Dave Cole of Universal, niversal Orlando have THEME PARK: won every single theme park award since the UNIVERSAL ORLANDO category was introduced in 2013. ago, it was an immediate hit with Irish Last year the park opened Volcano Bay, their new water adven- families.

Shortlist Cruise: Carnival Cruises; ture park and a second on site hotel.

When Caban Bay opened three years NCL; Princess; Royal Caribbean. Pre-

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Category sponsor Carlota Farrial of Portaventura and Ann Mullins of The Travel Broker

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nn Mullins won the travel professional of the yea following Katrina McMullan, Christine Rickard, Louise Brennan Ormsby Liz Wright, Sandra Mooney and Ioanna Gomez.

Ann absolutely loves cruises. Her passion and enthusiasm for her job really shines through when she ‘talks cruise’.

In 2018 she holidayed on board Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas and the newest Royal Caribbean ship, Symphony of the Seas and she is very much looking forward to sailing on board the brand new Celebrity Edge later this year.

Ann is a Gold Card member of My Club Royal as she has sailed herself on Royal Caribbean 12 times already and was also a recent recipient of a Silversea

LEISURE TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL: ANN MULLINS OF THE TRAVEL BROKER Advocate Award for her promotion of Silversea six star luxury cruising.

“I’m so delighted to win this award, especially as it is such a lovely way to celebrate my 25 years in the travel industry this year” she said.

“A week later I’m still on a high and am thrilled with all of the lovely compliments I am receiving from our clients, not to mention the flowers and champagne!”

Ann is a very focused professional whose philosophy is to actively upsell and cross-sell and encourage her clients to embrace as many added

extras as possible on each booking, because she knows that these added treats produce a more enjoyable experience for clients and of course repeat business.

Previous winners:2013 Katrina McMullan of Navan Travel & Clare O’Dwyer of Shandon travel, 2014 Christine Rickard of Tour America & Katrina McMullan of Navan Travel; (2 categories), 2015 Louise Brennan Ormsby of Club Travel, 2016 Liz Wright of Tour America, 2017 Sandra Mooney of Cassidy Travel, 2018 Joanna Gomez of Travel Focus.

Category sponsor Hasan Mutlu of Turkish Airlines with Valerie Murphy of Celebrity Cruises, elebrity retained the premium cruise award they won for the CRUISE PREMIUM: first time last year..

CELEBRITY It has been a momentous year for Celebrity. The cruise line is basing a The team in Ireland is headed by Valship in Ireland for a second mini season erie Murphy and supported by London this April and plans to extend to a full based MIchael English, a regular at Irish season if support form the Irish trade is trade events. forth coming.

Shortlist: Cunard; MSC; OceThe launch of celebrity edge in De- ania; Royal Caribbean. Previous wincember was regarded as a breakthrough ners:2018 Celebrity. in cruise ship technology.

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MARCH 2019 PAGE 12

ITIA AWARDS 2019

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Category sponsor Caitriona Toner of American Airlines with Susana Cardoso Director of Portuguese Tourism office in Dublin, ortugal was a third time winner of the SUMMER SUN summer sun desDESTINATION: PORTUGAL tination award.

Portugal Tourism said “the award belongs as to re-invent history by investing in the much too all our partners in the market, renovation of 30 buildings of historical as to us. We receive this award with a interest and monuments that will be great sense of responsibility. It motivused for Tourism and for the training ates us to do even better and to work and qualification of the future generahard towards development of the Tourtion employed in this sector. Our oath is ism sector.” to always make people feel welcomed Innovations for 2019 include a new to Portugal, wherever they come from. double daily route direct to Lisbon with “We are confident that this path TAP Portugal brining the total number of constant collaboration and shared of flights to 34, 11 a week from Aer knowledge is the right way to continue LIngus and nine from Ryanair. Portugal promoting Portugal in Ireland and to now has 82 flights a week from Dublin help develop and improve both our touralone. ism offer and your business. ‘ “VisitPortugal has projects to deShortlist: Italy; Greece; Lanzarote; velop and improve new products such Spain. Previous winners:2011-2 Alas cycling, walking, nature and active garve, 2013-4-5-6 Spain, 2017-8 Portourism, as well as the MICE segment; tugal.

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ilversea won best ultra cruise company something Amanda Middler feels “demonstrates the success and strength of the relationships we have built with the trade over the years.”

“We are delighted to have won the award for ‘Best Ultra Luxury Cruise Company’ at the 2019 Irish Travel Industry Awards and feel this demonstrates the success and strength of the relationships we have built with the trade.

“Silversea is an ultra-luxury, all-inclusive cruise line, sailing to over 900 destinations, spanning all seven continents, aboard intimate ships. As the luxury cruise industry expands year on year, Silversea continues to focus on innovation and pushing the boundaries of ultra-luxury cruising.

“Silversea’s Invictus multi-year project, under Royal Caribbean International Ltd, will take Silversea’s ultra-luxury offering to the next level.

Silver Wind and Silver Whisper were

CRUISE ULTRA: SILVERSEA, fully refurbished at the end of 2018 with Silver Shadow to follow in 2019.

The entire fleet will see onboard product enhancement including champagne, caviar, canapés, seafood buffet and an upgraded meat offering on board.

“In 2019, Silversea celebrates their 25th ‘Silver’ anniversary with various events across the country. Silversea was founded in 1994 by renowned entrepreneur and lawmaker Antonio Lefebvre d’Ovidio. Our first ship, Silver Cloud, set sail on 6th April 1994. Our new ship, Silver Origin, which will serve the Galapagos Islands itineraries, will go on sale early 2019. She is expected for delivery in March 2020..

Shortlist: Azamara; Celebrity; NCL; Seabourn. Previous winners:2011-2 Celebrity, 2013-4 Silversea; 2015 Celebrity, 2016-7-8 Silversea..

Category sponsor Tara Magee of British Airways presents the worldwide city award to tryphavana Cross of Las Vegas CVA as Vegas was a first time CITY DESTINATION: winner in the worldwide city category.

LAS VEGAS Tryphavana Cross of Las Vegas ence to Wynn Las Vegas for his firstCVA describes it as “an achievement of which we are all genuinely ever US residency.

Adrenaline junkies won’t want to proud. “The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority are absolutely de- miss Fly LINQ - the Las Vegas Strip’s lighted to have just been awarded Best very first zip line. Recently announced Worldwide Destination. We would like by Caesars Entertainment, the ride will to thank all of the trade who supported give ten riders the chance to simultaneously fly 1,080 feet over The LINQ and voted for us.

We are overwhelmed Las Vegas is Promenade in either a flat or seated constantly evolving and reinventing position.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and itself, offering a unique experience for Clique Hospitality recently announced every type of traveller.

From celebrity chefs and world class their continued partnership with a entertainment to five-star hotels and second venue set to open this spring.

The Barbershop Cuts and Cocktails VIP nightlife, Las Vegas truly is the debuts a new, modern, experiential ‘Entertainment Capital of the World’.

Whether you’re a Vegas veteran or barbershop and speakeasy this Spring it’s your first time visiting, no two trips 2019. The largest Italian marketplace look the same so check out our list of with restaurants all over the world has some of the best new things to hit the finally arrived in Las Vegas. Comprised of more than a dozen authentic Italian Strip in 2019.

This Spring, The LINQ Promenade eateries and hundreds of high-quality debuts Jimmy Kimmel’s Comedy Club products, Eataly Las Vegas at Park which will showcase comedians ranging MGM offers visitors the opportunity to from up-and-coming talent to household eat, shop and learn their way through names curated by Kimmel and his team. one of the greatest cuisines in the world, With more than 75 million records all under a single roof. ” Shortlist: Dubai; Hong Kong; sold worldwide, one of the best-selling New York; Toronto. Previous winartists of all time, Robbie Williams, will bring an unforgettable concert experi- ners:2011-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 New York.

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Amanda Middler and Connie Georgiou of Silversea, Category sponsor Hasan Mutlu of Turkish Airlines, Luke Clarke and Linda McCorry of Silversea Cruises, Irish Travel Industry Awards

YOU TAKE US PLACES. Thank you for naming G Adventures your 2019 Best Escorted Tour Operator.

Together, we’re changing lives through travel.

It could be for our travellers or the communities we visit — the possibilities to effect positive change are endless. And that’s why we don’t just see this award as a prize. It’s a way to see how, with the help of our agent partners (that’s you!), we’re doing at making the world a better place.

While we celebrate this win, we’re always grateful that with you, our adventures are winning at creating some good in the world.

Thank you.

01 513 4741 gadventures.com

A W A R D S

2 0 1 9

BEST ESCORTED TOUR OPERATOR

MARCH 2019 PAGE 14

ITIA AWARDS 2018

Alper Kanburoglu of Turkish Airlines, category spnsor Edel Redmond of Dublin Airport, Hasan Mutlu, julie Curran, Onur Gull of Turkish Airlines,

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urkish Airlines are a third time BUSINESS CLASS AIRLINE TO winner for best EUROPE: TURKISH AIRLINES business class airline to Turkish Airlines has been in the Irish Europe.

Hasan Mutlu, General Manager of market since 2006 has been growing Turkish Airlines,Ireland said: Turkish every year.

Turkish Airlines flying to 306 destinAirlines has been recently awarded “The Best Business Class to Europe” by ations in 124 countries all around the the Irish Travel Industry Awards 2017. world and by the time 2023 the network “We would like to thank all our trade capacity will reach 550 destinations.

They are the market leader for destinpartners for this prestigious prize, which ations such as Tel Aviv and Cape Town. was a huge surprise on the night.

“We are overwhelmed by the well Turkish Airlines also holds “Europe’s wishes and congratulations we received Best Airline” title for the sixth consecuby our industry colleagues. We hope to tive year, by Skytrax Survey in 2016.

Shortlist: British Airways; KLM; continue our success in the Irish market and we gratefully appreciate your sup- Lufthansa; SAS. Previous winport and assistance as we strive for the ners:2015-6 BA, 2017-8 Turkish.

highest standards of service delivery”. .

Fiona Foster of Cassidy Travel, category sponsor Olwen McKinney of Amadeus, Fiona Dobbyn, Paul Kelly. Michelle Buckley, Sharon Harney, and John Spollen of Cassidy Travel President of the ITAA,

J

ohn Cassidy and John SpolTRAVEL AGENCY >10: len founded Cassidy Travel 30 years ago.

CASSIDY TRAVEL John Spollen said: There’s always satisfaction in winning It is a tribute to everyone in the organiawards, in your work being acknow- sation. ledged by peers or experts or customers.

We are extremely proud to have been The ITAA is a travel industry profes- selected for this highly sought after title sional Association with strict codes of among stiff competition from our peers conduct. To be awarded the prestigious it only serves to spur us on even further title of Travel Agent of the Year for to reach new and exciting heights for Cassidy Travel is a huge achievement our valued clients and suppliers. not only for the brand, but for each and Shortlist: Frosch Ctm; Cassidy every staff member that works within Travel; Click&Go; Tour America. Prethe organisation. vious winners:2011 Lee Travel, 2012 I’m mindful that in our business our Tour America, 2013 (one category) staff are central to the value we provide, O’Hanrahan Travel, 2014 (one catin the advice and service they offer to egory) Lee Travel, 2015 Club Travel, customers every day. That makes a rec- 2016 Cassidy Travel, 2017 Shandon ognition like this all the more pleasing. Travel, 2018 Tour America.

Lisa Hammond, Andrea Hunter, Jenny Rafter, Rory Keane, category sponsor Edel Redmond of Dublin Airport, Yvonne Muldoon, Ivan Beacom, Brian Cassidy, Aisling Murphy and Alan Molloy of Aer Lingus,

A

er Lingus have AIRLINE TO EUROPE & N dominated the best airline to Europe AMERICA: AER LINGUS award since the Travel Industry awards were inaugJuly followed by Montreal in August. urated in 2011. They have previously When asked to comment on the Talk won the best airline to North America travel forum Jenny Rafter Head of in 2011-2 and 2014-5.

Global Leisure sales commented- ‘It The introduction of new services and was a pleasure to discuss holiday trends a Yvonne Muldoon said “Aer Lingus to the USA at the recent Holiday World was honoured to collect two awards as show in the RDS. voted by the travel trade at the recent Flying direct to North America has Travel Industry Awards held in the never been easier with US Immigration mansion house. pre-clearance when flying from Dublin The accolade of being awarded the or Shannon. The sheer choice of destin‘Best Airline to North America’ is a ations that has opened up over the past welcome endorsement to being the 5 years driven by our route expansion only 4-Star Skytrax rated airline oper- making Miami, LA, Seattle firm favourating between Ireland and the United ites to the leisure passenger to name a States. Aer Lingus was delighted to few.’ also scoop the award for Best Airline to Shortlist Airline to Europe: Lufthansa; Europe.

Ryanair; SAS; Turkish Airlines. PreviWe would like to take this opportun- ous winners:2011-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 Aer ity to thank the travel trade partners for Lingus. their continued support. In 2019 we will Shortlist Airline to N America: Aer continue our ambition to be the leading Lingus value carrier across the Atlantic bringShortlist: Air Canada; American Airing to 17 the total number of direct lines; Delta Airlines; United Airlines. routes from Dublin and Shannon.

Previous winners:2011-2 Aer Lingus A daily service to Minneapolis St 2012-3-4 United, 2015-6-7-8 Aer LinPaul will be added to the network in gus.

Lisa Hammond, Aisling Murphy, Andrea Hunter, Dara McMahon, Brian Cassidy, Yvonne Muldoon, category sponsor Edel Redmond of Dublin Airport, van Beacom, Jenny Rafter, Front row: Rory keane, Alan Molloy and Dermot Lee.

IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION

Category spoinsor Stephen Sands of Riviera Travel with Ciaran Mulligan, jason Whelan and Ian Kennedy of Blue Insurances,

B

lue Insurances won the travel insurance award for the eighth year in succes-

sion..

Ciaran mulligan said “Blue Insurance are delighted to win its first award or 2019 and we are especially delighted to have won “Best Travel Insurance Provider” as voted by the Irish Travel Trade.

“It has been an extraordinary year for Blue Insurance with the buyout of the company by CoverMore a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group and confirms the company’s position as Ireland’s favourite Travel Insurance provider. We are also delighted that we have won a

TRAVEL INSURANCE: BLUE INSURANCE Travel Insurance Award every year since opening in 2003.

“We would like to thank the Irish Travel Trade for their continued support and we look forward to launching some new innovative products with them over the coming year”.

Shortlist: Accident & General; AIG; AXA Insurance; Worldwide Insurance.

Previous winners:2011 Accident & General, 2012-3-4-5-6-7-8 Blue Insurance.

MARCH 2019 PAGE 15

ITIA AWARDS 2018

Category sponsor Tara Magee of British Airways, Teresa Gancedo of the Spanish Tourist Board, Aicard Guinovart Director for Catalan Tourism in London,

T

he European City Destination award reflects the growing interest in Barcelonae.

Headlines about over-tourism have not diminished the city;s draw on irish people. , which pulled away from Copenhagen and Amsterdam as a second tier citybreak destination from the Irish market

EUROPEAN CITY DESTINATION: BARCELONA

behind the big three of London, Paris and Rome.

The city has 39 flights a week form Dubin in summer time, 18 from Ryanair, 14 form Aer LIngus and seven from Vueling.

Nearby reus has 12 Ryanair flights a week

and some charter services and Girona has four flights a week from Ryanair.

Shortlist: Amsterdam; Krakow; Lisbon; Madrid.

Previous winners:2011 Barcelona/Paris, 20134-5-6-7-8 Barcelona (no award 2012).

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MARCH 2019 PAGE 16

ITIA AWARDS 2018

Stephen McKenna, Maria Hyland, Ben Redmond, Tracy McAuley, Tania Crinion, Eamonn Murray and Gayle Mardell, Atlas/Gohop,

A

tlas Travel’s Stephen CORPORATE TRAVEL McKenna expressed his immense satisAGENCY (JT): ATLAS faction as joint winner of the evant smart solutions. corporate travel award.

We have a diverse suite of specialised “Atlas Travel are delighted to have picked up the Irish Travel Agents As- corporate online tools, mobile solutions sociation “Best Corporate Management and platforms that are aligned with our Company Award” at last nights cere- mission of ‘Enhancing every customer mony at the Mansion House. These experience’ enabling company road awards recognise the contribution of warriors and their travellers fly with all our team and the collective effort comfort, ease and peace of mind while in driving change in Corporate Travel on an organisational level we can ensure Management in Ireland, with innovative travel safety, duty of care, optimal service efficiencies and drive policy comsolutions and servicing concepts.

“Atlas Travel is a modern travel com- pliance.

A key objective is to target specific pany who have driven change and innovation in travel for over 50 years. We industry verticals such as Pharma, HQ are a next generation corporate travel Ireland Companies and further target management company with a differ- the Aviation sector with targeted sales initiatives. ence.

Atlas Travel are also proud partners The Atlas difference is our ability to deliver smart solutions coupled with our of the American Express Global Busicommitment to deliver the highest qual- ness Travel Partner network. “Atlas ity personalised service while helping Travel is an independently owned and companies transform their travel pro- operated entity which is a licensee of American Express Global Business gramme.

We are an Irish-owned and managed Travel (“GBT”).

GBT is a joint venture that is not company who have been recognised by Deloitte as a “Best Managed Company wholly-owned by American Express in 2019, 2018 & 2017”, we are the only Company or any of its subsidiaries Corporate Management TMC to have (“American Express”). “American Express Global Business Travel”, achieved this standard.

We have over 180 customers operat- “American Express” and the American ing across 18 different markets and we Express logo are trademarks of Amerservice small to medium sized business ican Express, and are used under limited in addition to servicing global multi- license.“ Shortlisted: Corporate Travel.ie; nation clients such as the ESB, Airbus Helicopters & many more across a Club Travel HRG; Fcm. Previous winbroad range of industries and verticals. ners:2011 CWT, 2012-3-4 FCm, 2015-6 On the corporate side of the business Atlas, 2017 CWT, 2018 HRG our primary focus is on driving exceptional service levels coupled with rel-

Category sponsor Emma McHale of Hertz with JJohn Booty and John Warr of Wendy Wu Tours

Category sponsor Carlota Farrial of Portaventura with Mary McKenna, Kathleen Maher and Veronica Flood of Tour America,

M

ary McKenna’s DIGITAL & AGENCY Tour America won both the MARKETING CAMPAIGNS: agency and the digital marTOUR AMERICA keting award at the ITIAs. Tour America asaid but we’ve also seen growth on Alaska “the awards highlight the commitment of our marketing team to cruises since the introduction of the diralways strive, be different and be innov- ect Aer Lingus flight to Seattle and also ative in what we do. We’re delighted to the direct Miami service has increased have such successful campaigns recog- business to Southern Florida. The Irish have become avid fans of fly/drives nized.

In terms of product, the popularity with many hitting the open road to exof the USA has not slowed down as we plore the sights of the USA. Shortlist Digital: J Barter Travel move into 2019. One key trend which has come through is that many are now Group; Cassidy Travel; Club Travel; visiting the USA on multi-centre holi- ClickandGo. Previous winners:2014 days and are extending the length of Earth’s Edge (website award). 2018 time they are away. Adding on a cruise Clickandgo Shortlist agency: Click & Go. Preto USA holidays has also become even more popular for 2019. This was always vious winners:2011 FCm, 2012 Shana popular option for Florida holidays, don Travel, 2015 Tour America, 2016

W

endy Wu have established remarkable visibility in Ireland in the four years since John Booty arrived to head up the Irish operation.

The China-centred tour operator has expanded into Japan and South America and business has doubled in each of the four years at that they have been working in Ireland.

John Booty reports that 65pc of the Irish trade are now booking with Wendy Wu. He says he is looking forward to engaging with the others in the coming twelve months.

“To be nominated four times was mind blowing , to win two awards was beyond our expectations and left both John Warr ( Deputy Managing Director UK & Ireland ) and myself totally speech less. It’s an honour to go around Ireland promoting this wonderful product to the trade , these awards are recognition to all the hard work and effort put in by our team in London & overseas who work so hard in delivering this amazing holidays. We would like to thank all of the trade that voted for us and booked with us making January 2019 our most successful month on record since our arrival in Ireland . Wendy Wu Tours had its best ever Holiday World show in Dublin with our stand being busy from

LONG HAUL TOUR OP & SPECIALIST TOUR OP: WENDY WU the moment the show opened on Friday until 5pm on the Sunday. Destinations that topping everybody’s bucket list for 2019 & 20 are China, Japan, Vietnam & South America particularly to Chile & Brazil . People love the fact that we make it a hassle free experience - Guaranteed departures , Include as much as possible with international flights from Ireland, all excursions, meals & more importantly their tourist visa . Book before the end of February through their travel agent they also save €200pp on the brochure price.

Shortlist: Classic Resorts; If Only; Sunway; Travel Focus. Previous winners:2011 Sunway, 2012 Classic Resorts/Sunway, 2013 Classic Resorts, 2014-5 Sunway; 2016 Classic Resorts, 2017 Sunway, 2018 Classic Resorts.

Specialist Tour Op Shortlist: G Adventures; If Only; Sunway; Travel Focus. Previous winners:2011-2 Discover Travel, 2013 Classic Resorts, 2014 Insight; 2015 Sunway, 2016 Insight, 2017 Sunway, 2018 G Adventures.

IRELAND'S PREMIER SOURCE OF TRAVEL INFORMATION

MARCH 2019 PAGE 17

ITIA AWARDS 2018

Marie McCarthy of Irish Ferries, Category sponsor Hasan Mutlu of Turkish Airlines, Nora Costello, Ann Pye and Dermot Merrigan of Irish Ferries

I

rish Ferries were voted as Ireland’s Best Ferry Company for the eighth year in succession.

Irish Ferries are in expansion mode, with the WB Yeats coming on stream this year releasing the Epsillon and allowing daily sailings to France for the first time. A new, larger ferry and larger fast craft will be arriving on Dublin Holyhead and there are plans for more expansion.

Dermot Merrigan of Irish Ferries describes it as “an achievement of which we are all genuinely proud. “We take great pride in the quality of what we do and how we do it, be that online, ashore or on board. However at Irish Ferries, we are under no illusions regarding the stiff competition that we face for busi-

FERRY COMPANY: IRISH FERRIES

ness each and every year and are also very conscious of the exceptionally high standard that the Travel Industry demands for their customers.”

“That is why we raise the bar that we set ourselves to exceed expectations in terms of quality, value, comfort and safety. Our long-standing relationship with our partners in the travel industry remains as strong as ever. Their appreciation, cooperation and support is of great comfort to us.”

Shortlist: Brittany; P&O; Stena Line.

Previous winners:2011-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 Irish Ferries.

Emma McHale and Paul Manning of Hertz with category sponsor Stephen Sands of Riviera Travel and Sinead Murphy of Hertz

H

ertz are won the CAR HIRE: HERTZ award for Best Car Hire provider for the most to deliver great customer service. sixth year in succession.

With the Best in Class loyalty program On accepting the award John Barry, ‘Gold Rewards’ and ‘Ultimate Choice’ Head of Sales commented. where the renter gets to choose their car ““I am extremely proud that Hertz has from an entire row of vehicles we cononce again been awarded the winner of tinue our focus on quality and service in the Best Car Hire Company. We would order to win our customers’ hearts each like to thank the Irish Travel Industry time they book a car with Hertz for this accolade and to gather with our We remain and will always be, ‘Here industry peers at this magnificent event, to get you There’. we are truly humbled by their continued Shortlist: Affordable Car Hire; Avis; recognition.

Flexible Car HireYour Car Hire. PreviThe award is a testament to the dedi- ous winners:2011-2-3 Holliday Autos, cation of our staff in Ireland and across 2014-5-6-7-8 Hertz. the globe in making sure we do our ut-

THANKS FOR MAKING US N 0 1 FOR THE 6 TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR!

A W A R D S

2 0 1 9

BEST WORLDWIDE THEME PARK

Universal Orlando Resort wishes to thank everyone who voted us the winner of ‘Best Worldwide Theme Park’ at the 2019 Irish Travel Industry Awards. We are delighted to receive this award and we thank you for your continued support!

Universal elements and all related indicia TM & © 2019 Universal Studios. All rights reserved.

MARCH 2019 PAGE 18

ITIA AWARDS 2019

Brian Hynes of The Travel Corporation, Category sponsor Hasan Mutlu of Turkish Airlines,, Sharon Jordan and Adam Goddard of Uniworld niworld has dominated SPECIALIST CRUISE the specialist cruise category in the history of COMPANY: UNIWORLD the awards.

New for 2019, we will be welcomSharon Jordan said We are ing guests onboard the new Sanctuary delighted to have won Best Specialist Cruise Company for Uniworld Bou- Yangzi Explorer, which boasts the lartique River Cruises at the ITIA Awards. gest cabins and suites on the river, all We’re very grateful for all of the con- with private balconies, as well as the tinued support that we receive from our highest crew to passenger ratio on the incredible Irish travel agents and trade river of 1:1.

We are very excited about the three partners. new itineraries in Central Europe that We are committed to delivering our guests the best and most luxurious river we’re adding to our collection this year, cruise experience in the world. For including the 15-day Alluring Amster2019, we are doing this across touch- dam & Vienna and 10-day Authentic points that ultimately begin with the Danube & Prague itineraries aboard the River Princess as well as the 10-day product itself.

After an extensive full-ship renova- Magnificent Moselle & Rhine itinerary tion, the River Royale will re-emerge aboard the River Queen..”

Shortlist: Ama Waterways; Avalon this Spring as the SS Bon Voyage with inspiration from the renowned wine and Waterways; Riviera; Viking. Previous winners: 2013-4-5-6-7-8 Uniworld. gastronomic expertise of France.

U

Category sponsor Tara Magee of British Airways, Josef Treml of Advantage Austria, Shauna Kelly and Maurice Shiels of Topflight,

A

n unsurprising victory for the seventh time.

Austria is the birthplace of the Arlberg skiing technique, preferred by the Ski Club of Ireland teachers at Kilternan. It is a great spot for freeriding, and for skiers who like their skiing to come with chocolate-box pretty surroundings and unpretentious après-ski.

The country offers four glaciers (Hintertux, Kitzsteinhorn, Stubai and Sölden) and some of Europe’s most reliable snow in the Arlberg region.

Irish favourite resorts include Söll, Westendorf for Kitzbühel

SKI DESTINATION: AUSTRIA and Leogang for Saalbach-Hinterglemm, appealing villages with attractive wooded slopes as well as stark glaciers while the après-ski is renowned.

The Ski Amadé region might be Europe’s largest linked ski area, the 280km linked Skiwelt region can rattle 50km or more from you each day, but generally speaking Austria’s resorts are relatively small. Even the larger resorts often incorporate several small villages in one valley, like Bad Gastein and

Stubaital.

It can work to the advantage of families and those on a budget when a small resort is linked by lifts (or bus) to large, interconnected ski areas such as SkiWelt and the Kitzbüheler Alpen, as accommodation is often cheaper and familyfriendly.

Shortlist: Andorra; France; Italy; Bulgaria. Previous winners:2011-2-4-5-6-7 Austria (no award 2013 & 2018).

Rebecca Kelly ex MSC, Alanna Byrne, Antonio Paradiso, Steve Williams and Andrea Stafford of MSC

M

SC won the cruise award that has been dominated by Royal Caribbean since the awards were introduced in 2018 and the new award for supplier promoting travel agents to the public.

Antonio Paradiso says that this year’s ITIA awards has been the highlight of her career. “Our hard work and dedication to the industry was recognised and we won three awards.

To win Best Mainstream Cruise Line after seven years was no mean fete and we are hugely grateful to our trade partners who voted for us. We o we are successes to them. I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support.

2018 was our most successful year yet. We saw unprecedented growth, we worked very closely with our trade part-

CRUISE COMPANY: MSC ners throughout the year and engaged in many trade activities, and hope to build on this in 2019 with the launch of MSC Bellissima.

The company recently appointed Suzanna Rowe as new head of sales Ireland.

Shortlist Cruise: Carnival Cruises; NCL; Princess; Royal Caribbean. Previous winners:2011-2-3-4-5-6-7 Royal Caribbean. 2018 MSC. Shortlist Supplier promoting travel agents to the public: Royal Caribbean; Sunway; The Travel Corporation; Wendy Wu. New category.

Amadeu Castanho, Geraldine McFadden of Costa Sal and Teresa Gancedo of the Spanish Tourist Board accept the winter destination award on behalf of Lanzarote from Caitriona Toner of American Airlines

I

ncreased air lift has meant that there is no sign that the 200,000 Irish going to Ireland’s favourite Canary Island each year will stop any time soon, leaving it ahead not just of its sister islands Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Fuerteventura but of entire countries, getting more visitors on its own than Greece.

The CSO said passenger figures from Dublin to Lanzarote are back to pre-recession levels.

People go because of the guaranteed winter sunshine, absence of jetlag, the choice of charter

WINTER SUN DESTINATION: LANZAROTE

and scheduled services available less than four hours of flight-time away and because it is around four degrees warmer than southern Spain.

The reinvestment in product and good value restaurants make it a long established favourite with the Irish. Off-peak season is the summer, which also suits the Irish market.

Lanzarote is the most easterly and most exotic if the chain. Holiday-makers gravitate

towards Puerto del Carmen, Matagorda, Playa Blanca and Los Pocillos but there is a smoking volcano to climb.

While all the Canary Islands have their extinct volcanoes, Lanzarote is the place to have a drop of the crater – literally have your food cooked by smoldering nature.

Shortlist: Dubai; Gran Canaria; Las Vegas; Tenerife. Previous winners:2011-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 Lanzarote.

MARCH 2019 PAGE 19

ITIA AWARDS 2019

Edmund Hourican and Maureen Ledwith, of Business Exhibitions with the service to the industry award he founders of Buisness ExhibINDUSTRY AWARD: tions Edmund EDMUND HOURICAN & Hourican and Maureen Ledwith were the popuMAUREEN LEDWITH lar winners of the service to the industry award.

Previous winners: tin,, 2016 Eoghan Corry, 2017 Liam 2012 Paddy Power, 2013 Con Horgan, Keller, 2018 George Barter.

Tvl AllAntonio Product 2019.qxp_Layout 1 copy 3 13/02/2019 2014Extra Tanya Half Airey,Pg 2015 Mar-

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R

Rebecca Kelly of MSC Cruises holding the supplier rep award with husband Paul Kelly of Cassidy Travel ebecca Kelly won the supplier rep- SUPPLIER REPRESENTATIVE: resentative award REBECCA KELY for the fourth time in five years. She is shortly to Osborne of Bookabed,2014-5-6 Rebmove from MSC Cruises to Princess. ecca Kelly of MSC; 2017Thomas McShortlist: Brian Hughes of United; Nally of Bedsonline.2018 Rebecca Lee Osborne of Bookabed; Martin Kelly of MSC Penrose of Ifonly; Jeanette Taylor of Sunway. Previous winners:2013 Lee

16:17 Page 1

Thank you for your support in 2018 and we look forward to working with you all in 2019!

3Sun Package Holidays 3Tailor-made Holidays 3Worldwide Holidays 3Cruise Holidays 3USA & Canada Holidays 3Escorted & Adventure Holidays 3Club Med Holidays 3Lapland Holidays Licensed and Bonded No: TO 101

MARCH 2019 PAGE 20

ITIA AWARDS 2019

Olwen McKinney and Siobhan Boskett McGuigan of Amadeus, Category sponsor Stephen Sands of Riviera Travel, Liz Emmett and James Keyte of Amadeus madeus’ award for the TECHNOLOGY Best Travel Technology Provider set another recPROVIDER & SUPPLIER ord. “It is particularly satisfying for us as we have now won this SUPPORT TEAM: particular honour nine times in AMADEUS a row,” Olwen McKinney says, “and the entire Ireland team are for every single agent, and every sinvery thankful for the continued vote of gle travel consultant, in their very own confidence we receive from our cus- way.” tomers.”

“This is what we strive for everyday “It is a great honour for me to be and it is fantastic to see this effort reheading a team in Ireland that is 100pc cognised. So we would like to thank committed to making the lives of travel everybody who voted for us and we consultants in Ireland easier.” promise that this recognition will only “A lot of time, money and effort goes spur us in 2019.” into our products and solutions which is Tech supplier Shortlist Dolphin Dywhy Amadeus is the largest investor in namics; Proactive Labs; Travelport. travel technology in Europe.”

Previous winners: 2011-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 “But it is crucial to make them work Amadeus.

A

Karen Smyth of CWT, Miriam O’Callaghan, Denise Harman and David O’Neill of CWT he 2011 nd 2017 CorporCORPORATE TRAVEL ate travel agency winners CWT shared the award AGENCY : CWT with Atlas Travel. .

Denise Harman said: “We to our clients and partners. A huge part are so pleased to have won best ITAA of this is down to better use of data, corporate travel agency in Ireland. We making sure that companies get the best demonstrated our innovations, our cut- bang for their Euro. ting-edge technology, and the strength To that end, we are investing in techof our flexible service delivery model. nology and people, in areas such as hoThat’s what put us over the top – and of tels, digital platforms, and data. We will course our amazing Irish team. continue to focus on delivering a great Just last year we launched Mobile Air traveler experience in 2019. Our cliBooking on our app – myCWT – giving ents’ expectations and needs are evolvclients a simpler, faster experience. That ing, and we are evolving with them. was an industry first for a big TMC. We Shortlist: Corporate Travel.Ie; Club also launched express hotel bookings Travel HRG; Fcm. Previous winwith access to 800,000 hotels. ners:2011 CWT, 2012-3-4 FCm, 2015-6 We focus on creating an unbeatable Atlas, 2017 CWT, 2018 HRG. customer experience and offering value

T

Josephine Clifford of O’Hanrahan Travel, Olwen McKinney of Amadeus and Mark Clifford of O’Hanrahan Travel

O

’Hanrahan travel were previously winner of TRAVEL AGENCY <10: travel agency of the year O’HANRAHAN TRAVEL in 2013, a fantastic achievement considering there was only one category at the time, undeterWe are one of only two agents in the mined by size.

Republic with an account to sell Jet2 Mark Clifford said: We are all abso- Holidays and they are a key player in lutely thrilled to have won this award the Northern Irish Market. for a second time. Our agency is one of Belfast being our closet airport and a the longest established Travel Agents in weaker Sterling has proved positive for the country and despite all the threats to us here on the border with our Belfast our business we have just had our busi- sales on the increase. Our ski sales are est year on record. Our dedicated staff also up year on year, another sure sign has such great experience and offers that of a thriving economy. personal touch that makes all the differWe are sole agents in Ireland for a ence. I am sure this was recognised by UK specialist Ski Chalet Operator Ski the judging panel when making their Amis who have a range of affordable decision. A huge thank you to all of the ski chalets right across the French Alps current staff and past staff for their dedi- and our ski sales with the mainstream cated service down through the years. ski operators has been good also.

Thanks the ITAA for such a wonI was lucky enough to have sampled derful event and the judging panel for a couple of the Club Med Ski Resorts choosing O’Hanrahan Travel and finally in December, compliments of Sunway to our customers of course who show Travel, and what a fantastic product it us such loyalty year after year” 2019 is, well worth a visit if considering Val has started with a bang in O’Hanrahan Thornes In France or their brand new Travel, Monaghan despite the “Border resort Club Med Panorama in Les Arc Brexit Blues” which opened in late December..

January revenue is up 6pc but interShortlist: Frosch Ctm; Cassidy estingly margin is up 12pc. So a higher Travel; Click&Shortlist: Travelagent. spend on holidays appears to be the Ie; Galvins Travel; Corrib Travel; trend for 2019. We have expanded our O’Donohoe Travel; The Travel Broker. product range for this Summer having Previous winners:2015 Navan Travel, fought hard for an account with North- 2016 Fahy Travel Galway, 2017 Grenern Ireland’s Largest Tour Operator Jet2 ham Travel Athlone, 2018 Manning Holidays.

Travel Kilkenny.

Denise Harman of CWT and Stephen McKenna of Atlas/Gohop, joint winners of corporate travel agency

MARCH 2019 PAGE 21

ITIA AWARDS 2019

Category sponsor Stephen Sands of Riviera Travel with Beverleigh Fly and Lee Osborne of Bookabed ookaBed won the accommodaACCOMMODATION tion supplier of the year awards for the eighth time in nine years.

ONLY PROVIDER: “We have continued to focus on BOOKABED improving user experience of our websites, increased distribution via xml partners and off line travel agents and We would like to express how grateimproving our already high standards of ful we are to the agents that book with customer care” said Karl Tyrrell, MD of us and for their loyal support for the past BookaBed. number years and wish them all every “Staff numbers have increased in success for 2019” areas such as product/contracting, sales, Shortlist: Arrow Tours; Bedsonline; customer service, admin and our fast Globe Hotels; Innstant Travel. Previous growing flight+hotel section in order to winners:2011-2-3-4. Bookabed, 2015 provide a better service our loyal and Lowcost, 2016-7-8 Bookabed. ever growing customer base.

B

BEST PREMIUM CRUISE LINE. THANK YOU. We are delighted to have won Best Premium Cruise Line at the Irish Travel Trade Awards and want to thank you all so much for your ongoing support. Don’t forget our award-winning ship Celebrity Reflection® will be sailing direct from Dublin this spring and we look forward to welcoming you onboard.

CELEBRITYCENTRAL.IE

Category sponsor Carlota Farrial of Portaventura and Cara Barry of Corporate Travel Management,

C

ara Barry of FroCORPORATE TRAVEL sch/Corporate Travel managePROFESSIONAL: CARA ment won the Corporate BARRY OF CTM travel professional of the year.

Louise Dunne & Karen Ray (Job Share) It has been a momentous year for of The Travel Broker. Previous winCara and Angela Walsh’s CTM whose ners:2013 Rhona McCann of FCm, business was transformed by investment 2014 Lelia Gregory of CWT; 2015 form the US corporate agency Frosch.

Catherine Monaghan of FCm, 2016 Previous winners:2013 Rhona Mc- Karen Gleeson of FCm, 2017 Niamh Cann of FCm, 2014 Lelia Gregory of Gleeson of FCm, 2018 Louise Dunne CWT; 2015 Catherine Monaghan of & Karen Ray (Job Share) of The Travel FCm, 2016 Karen Gleeson of FCm, Broker.

2017 Niamh Gleeson of FCm, 2018

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MARCH 2019 PAGE 24

AFLOAT ROYAL CARIBBEAN The

follow-up ship to Spectrum of the Seas in Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Ultra Class will be called Odyssey of the Seas, and will launch in autumn 2020.

JETLINE Clem Walshe’s Local Mar-

keting is promoting Jetline Cruise Ireland, the Irish arm of the agency that combines cruise trips with land-based breaks. The company also has themed cruise/land packages, including a music capitals-based package to the US and Caribbean, plus partnerships with rail operators including the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and Rocky Mountaineer.

VIKING The sixth ship in Viking Ocean Cruises’ fleet, Viking Jupiter, has been delivered to the line at the Fincantieri shipyard in Italy.

STENA

Line is to launch a Chatbot named Stina which can give customers updates regarding information on departure times, prices and can answer other FAQs.

PRINCESS Cruises is updating Caribbean Princess, replacing its Pirate’s View aft pool with an all-new Reef Family Splash Zone.

HAL Oprah Winfrey launched Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam in Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades.

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by Uniworld’s The B will be moving to Central Europe from France’s River Seine for the 2020 season.

MSC Cruises launched its own voice-activated version of Alexa: it says the world’s first “personal cruise assistant”, called Zoe, will be in every cabin onboard MSC Bellissima.

PRINCESS Cruises’ two newest ships, Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess, will offer two Sky Suites - each with the largest balconies ever offered by a cruise line, at around half the size of a tennis court.

ROYAL CARIBBEAN

is looking for an explorer to test out shore experiences for the line - and be paid €2,200 a week for the three-week experience. Hopeful applicants must be 21 years or over, hold a valid passport and be able to travel this year.

MARELLA

Cruises’ Marella Explorer 2 is now dry dock in Cadiz where it is getting a makeover for its launch in April.

OCEANIA

Cruises’ ships will not have plastic water bottles from April as part of its Sail & Sustain environmental programme.

CARNIVAL Pride had to be re-routed after a fire broke out on Princess Cruises’ Princess Cays private island in the Bahamas.

P&O

Cruises announced four different drinks packages – £10.95 for a hot drinks package; £19.95 for a non-alcoholic package; and £39.95 for an “Ultimate Drinks Package”.

AUSTRALIA’s APT is adding three new ships to its Essential River Cruising fleet between 2020 and 2024.

Engineers inspect the Ulysses rudders

Ulysses 4m refurb

Bid to prevent ‘unprecedented’ cancellations of 2018

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he MV Ulysses, the leading Irish Ferries freight and tourism vessel on the Dublin to Holyhead route, returned to Dublin on Wednesday February 13th following a €4m upgrade at Cammell Laird shipyard in Merseyside.

The four week upgrade included new propellers, new rudder components, a full refurbishment of her stern thruster, underwater works, engine overhauls and Vehicle Deck painting programmes.

Ulysses, one of three of Irish Ferries fleet of six ships to service the Dublin to Holyhead route, suffered chronic unserviceability in the final

week of June due to technical difficulties.

These related to the Ulysses’ starboard controllable pitch propeller which required an out of schedule drydock and the lead-time to machine specialist parts.

This level of cancellation was unprecedented given that vessel’s previous 99pc schedule integrity since entering service in 2001 to 2017.

While Irish Ferries undertook mitigating actions to reduce the effect of the disruption by rescheduling other vessels in its fleet, the disruption resulted in a significant reduction in Irish Ferries Ro Ro capacity in June.

Andrew Sheen, Irish Ferries Managing Director said “Birkenhead based shipyard and engineering service company Cammell Laird was chosen for the MV Ulysses dry dock refurbishment due to their extensive expertise and a strong track record with this vessel. This is a significant investment in the Ulysses, which we know is a much-loved ship for both freight and tourism traffic. We are delighted to see her return to service to continue to provide the comfort and reliability that our customers expect from the Irish Ferries fleet”.

UNIWORLD PLANS ‘SUPER SHIPS’

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niworld Boutique River Cruise Collection released more details on its new lineup of “super ships” coming in 2020.

The new ships will replace older vessels on some of Uniworld’s more exotic itineraries, including the Mekong in Southeast Asia, the Nile in Egypt, the Douro in Portugal and the islands surrounding Venice in Italy.

SS Satet, which will offer 12-day Nile River cruises to and from Cairo beginning January 6, 2020.

The 84-passenger chartered ship will have three dining venues, including

an al fresco dining experience on the upper deck, a swimming pool and a massage room. It replaces River Tosca.

Mekong Jewel, which will sail a 13-day itinerary on the lower Mekong River with stops in Vietnam and Cambodia beginning January 3, 2020.

The 56-passenger ship will have two dining venues: one main restaurant and an al fresco eatery on the upper deck. The chartered boat is being constructed with sustainable and ecofriendly materials, such as special paint used for the hull of the ship that creates less drag, specially de-

signed ship propellers that increase performance and efficiency, energy-efficient LED light fixtures, and a water-cooled air-conditioning system that will save energy. It replaces Mekong Navigator.

SS Sao Gabriel, which will launch on the Douro River in Portugal on March 26, 2020. The 100-passenger chartered ship will have butler service and feature Spanish and Portuguese culture and cuisine; it replaces Queen Isabel.

Uniworld will remove River Countess from service to undergo a complete renovation. It will reemerge as S.S. La Venezia

on March 27, 2020 and offering 10 or 8-day itineraries that focus on the Venetian lagoon; longer trips will offer a land-trip option to Milan. Bettridge said last year that guests wanted to move away from the Po River in Italy and spend more time around Venice and surrounding islands such as Burano, Mazzorbo and Torcello. At 130 passengers, the line is slightly reducing capacity; River Countess carries 134 guests.

Uniworld won the specialist cruise operator at the ITIAs for the seventh time since the category was introduced in 2013.

MARCH 2019 PAGE 25

DESTINATION JAMAICA

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eeping people safe is the simple aim of the world’s first centre dedicated to the study of resilience and crisis management in the tourism industry.

The centre also hopes to help the industry prepare for the inevitable disasters that are lying in wait, somewhere we can’t yet seem them, ahead in the future.

Established at a ceremony in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Centre’s full name will be the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (or GTRCM for short).

It will be based at the University of the West Indies and its board includes academics, politicians and industry experts.

The centre will research, collect and disseminate data which, it is hoped will assist the industry to streamline and improve the quality of its responses to disasters and crises.

Tourism is the industry arguably most susceptible to any instability or risk - let alone disaster either natural or manmade. ust a hint of something nasty and many people planning their holidays will avoid any destination, no matter how tempting.

After all, who wants

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Anne Cadwallader reports from Caribbean Tourism marketplace

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Staying safer

Classic Jamaica image: making tourists safer is an initiatve from Carbbean marketplace

the slightest possibility of their family holiday turning into a catastrophe?

Answer, no-one unless they are the kind of independent travellers who actively find visiting dangerous or disease-ridden areas appealing.

Think of the disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano erupting. Of places in the world, such as Syria, that will spend decades overcoming their reputation for violence.

We do not even have to look that far for examples. Only now is Belfast and the North beginning to attract the numbers of tourists that its attractions undoubtedly merit.

Coincidentally, even

as the Centre was being announced, the Jamaican government was preparing to stand down its own state of emergency, brought into being after inter-gang violence on the island.

It is possible, of course, for countries to overcome their past reputations.

Viet Nam and Cambodia are just two places now thought of as luxury destinations instead of wartorn or poverty-stricken nations.

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he Centre was unveiled by Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, at the Montego Bay Convention

Centre where the 2019 “Caribbean Travel Marketplace” and the “Second Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth: Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises” were under way.

“Of all the major industries globally, none face greater exposure to disruptions as the tourism industry, but it also proven again and again that it has the greatest capacity for recovery,” said the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, in attendance to mark the opening of the Centre.

Bartlett, pointed out that more than 1.4 billion overnight visitors trav-

eled internationally last year and the Caribbean received more than 30 million travelers in 2018.

The Centre will be led by Jamaica and its neighbouring Caribbean nations, however it will draw expertise from around the world, focusing on four core areas of challenge: n Climate change and disaster management; n Security and cybersecurity; n Entrepreneurial management and data analytics; and n Pandemic and epidemic management.

aleb Rifai, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, serves as the Centre’s co-chairman, spoke of the benefits that research and best practice benchmarks that will emerge from its work.

To date, partnerships have been formalised with World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the Pacific Asia Travel Association, Travel Corporation, the Jamaica National Group, Mediterranean Tourism from Malta, Pacific Tourism Authority in Bangkok, the Tourism International Conference of Mauritius, the Crisis Management and Resilience Council in London, and Global Rescue, among others.

Other board members include Hilary Beckles, vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies, Ryoichi Matsuyama, president of the Japan Tourism Organisation, Ambassador Dho Young-Shim, chairman of UNWTO Sustainable Tourism, Marie-Louise, Coleiro Preca, president of Malta, Mario Harvey, CEO of the Pacific Asia Tourism Association and Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.

Clockwise: Launching the initiative, Minister opens the event, Royal Decameron Club, marketplace opening ceremony, eco tourism excursion

MARCH 2019 PAGE 26

THE FLYING COLUMN RYANAIR is to cancel its Dublin Vigo service from May 2019 as it cancels all three routes serving Vigo–Peinador. Ryanair reduced its number of bases, including Lauda, from 92 in autumn 2018 to 87 in spring 2019.

AER LINGUS passenger num-

bers were up6.3pc to 658,000 in January. Load factor was down 2.8 to 68.1pc.

DAA changes to the new parallel runway

design at Dublin Airport that could reduce the cost of the project include plans to eliminate nine taxiways and reduce remaining taxiways from a minimum width of 30m to a new minimum of 27m. It is also planning to change the structural composition of the 7.5m-wide outer shoulders of the 3,110m-long runway, from paved construction to “reinforced grass”. The runway layout was designed to ICAO standards in 2007. The EASA has since become responsible for aviation standards in Europe and has revised regulations governing runways

ICELANDAIR’s Bogi Nils Bogason said lack of punctuality and disruptions in flight schedules cost about $45m in 2018 and it is planned to reduce this by at least 40pc in 2019:

TURKMENISTAN banned from EU airspace this week, operated to Amritsar and New Delhi from Heathrow and Birmingham.

CORK

is claiming the title of Ireland’s most punctual airport, according to the latest OAG data putting its on-time performance at 80.2pc.

DUBLIN Airport was the 11th largest airport in the European Union last year, according to Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.

RYANAIR’s Kenny Jackobs condemned ‘outrageous’ ATC issues, claiming that staff shortages in air traffic control centres delayed more than 2,900 of its flights in January. Full story here. Joe Sultana of Eurocontrol told the European Aviation Symposium at Munich that European flights will increase by 3.3pc this summer, fewer controllers are available in France and Germany to manage this growth and the option for planes to fly lower to take full advantage of airspace capacity has been used up, he pointed out.

FLIGHTASCEND Consultancy said leased aircraft increased by 629 to 8,109 aircraft in 2018 and an estimated 100 new names have entered the commercial operating lease sector over the past decade. An emerging trend is for airlines to push for shorter leases on aircraft from 12 to eight, or even six years, and for airlines to over order and try to flip aircraft to leasing companies at a profit.

JETBLUE in a statement welcomed the fact that the US DoT examination of the application of Aer Lingus to join the BA, American, Finnair, Iberia transatlantic joint business agreement preserved Aer Lingus’ ability to cooperate and codeshare with other carriers and maintains Aer Lingus’ freedom to continue its existing codesharing with JetBlue.

Dublin has been Dublin’, 1984 to 1989, 1989 to 1997, 1997 to 2006, and 2003 to 2018

31,495,506 pax

Dublin airport sets new record after growth of 6pc

D

ublin Airport r e - ton, Ontario. The short-haul network the Sardinian capital Cagliari, Kyiv, ported 31,495,506 pas- is also expanding, with scheduled and Gothenburg. sengers in 2018, up 6pc. flights to new destinations such as Originating and arriving passengers reached 29.4m and another DUBLIN AIRPORT PASSENGER NUMBERS 2.1m were transfer passengers 1971/72 2,068,749 1995 8,024,893 (who were double counted, 1.05m 1947/48 162,761 1996 9,091,296 1972/73 1,983,627 1948/49 175,333 bodies). Short-haul numbers are 1997 10.333,202 1973/74 2,155,206 up 5pc to 26.5m, long-haul num- 1949/50 212,661 1950/51 235,905 1974 1,702,323 (Ap-Dc) 1998 11,641,100 bers are up 15pc to 5m..

1975 2,195,688 1999 12,802,031 1951/52 279,618 n Europe up 7pc to 16.3m 1976 2,208,882 2000 13,843,528 1952/53 301,914 n Britain up 1pc to 10.1m.

2001 14,333,555 1977 2,267,089 1953/54 309,614 n Transatlantic up 16pc to 4m.

2002 15,084,667 1978 2,514,169 n Asia, the Middle East and Af- 1954/55 349,609 2003 15,800,085 1955/56 410,192 1979 2,756,581 rica up 17pc to 1m.

1980 2,582,417 2004 17,138,373 n N Atlantic transfer passenger 1956/57 460,289 1981 2,732,928 2005 18,450,439 1957/58 501,408 numbers up 18pc to 1.8m.

2006 21,196,382 1982 2,700,368 1958/59 574,178 There were 16 new routes at 2007 23,287,438 1983 2,562,308 Dublin Airport last year – includ- 1959/60 657,820 2008 23,466,711 1984 2,599,064 ing new services to Beijing, Hong 1960/61 854,582 2009 20,503,677 1985 2,618,627 1961/62 966,781 Kong, Montreal, and Seattle – and 1986 2,925,573 2010 18,431,064 capacity increases on 22 existing 1962/63 1,004,436 2011 18,740,593 1987 3,551,032 services, as airlines added flights 1963/64 1,140,175 2012 19,099,649 1988 4,418,356 and deployed larger aircraft on 1964/65 1,278,751 2013 20,166,783 1965/66 1,359,543 1989 5,099,253 some of their Dublin routes.

2014 21,712,173 1990 5,509,483 This year, Dublin Airport will 1966/67 1,585,530 2015 25,049,335 1991 5,278,534 welcome 19 new routes. New 1967/68 1,510,677 1992 5,808,024 2016 27,907,230 1968/69 1,602,405 long-haul destinations include 2017 29,582,321 1993 5,938,126 Calgary, Dallas-Fort Worth, 1969/70 1,737,151 2018 31,495,506 1994 6,980,983 Minneapolis-St Paul, and Hamil- 1970/71 1,902,984

MARCH 2019 PAGE 27

THE FLYING COLUMN NORWEGIAN Air unions rejected

a cost-cutting plan that includes reducing 150 jobs in Dublin.

FOYNES air show has been cancelled after the Irish Aviation Authority reduced its sponsorship .

QATAR Airways is to convert ten of

its 50 Airbus A321neo on order to A321LR aircraft, in an effort to connect Doha to new markets where demand is not yet sufficient for widebody aircraft.

VIENNA Airport has hit the 27m passenger mark for the first time in its history.

ETHIOPIAN Airlines is ending its Addis Ababa – Lome – Los Angeles route on February 13.

HAINAN Airlines announced a new dir-

ect service between Dublin and Shenzen. The Dreamliner service, beginning on February 25, will depart Dublin 9.30am Mondays and Fridays as HU756. Inbound HU755 departs the southern Chinese city at 1.30am local time.

STOBART Air, whose operations

include Aer Lingus Regional, made a €3.3m pre-tax profit, compared to a €10.5m loss in the previous 14-month financial period.

Mike Rutter, Sean Doyle and Dara McMahon at the big reveal

Not so green

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Dara McMahon unveils the new Aer Lingus brand

t took 26 focus groups, over 50 shamrocks and “less than €2m” for Aer Lingus to concoct its new image Lippincott, a creative consultancy specialising in brand innovation, led the brand refresh project.

The lead designer on the project was Dubliner Brendán Murphy who has been working with Lippincott in New York for over 20 years. He was educated at NCAD and St Benildus College, Kilmacud, Dublin, before going to the US. He is also responsible for a new global symbol for accessibility, in which the person is no longer impris-

I

oned by a wheelchair - the chair is merely the vehicle with which he or she gains access.

Newly appointed CEO Sean Doyle, chief operating officer Mike Rutter and marketing director Dara McMahon pulled back the curtain on a new-look Aer Lingus Airbus A330 with refreshed logo and livery at a glitzy showcase in the not-so-glamorous surroundings of hanger 6 at Dublin Airport.

Dara McMahon explained the surprisingly rigorous process that went into toning down the green planes and introducing a more modern logo and font, complete with a Celtic-in-

spired letter G. “In three phases of research we held qualitative sessions with 26 focus groups in Ireland, Boston, Berlin, New York, Paris and London,” she said.

“We used that research to understand our different equities in different geographies, and gauge permission to change from our target segments, old and young.”

“Throughout the process – which involved New York-based consultancy Lippincott, Aer Lingus decided to retain elements of green in its now mostly white livery due to its association with Ireland.”

IATA CARBON SPAT WITH EU

ATA DG and CEO Alexandre de Juniac hailed the role of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation as it celebrated a first month of implementation.

A declaration promoting a carbon-free future was signed in 2008 by industry

leaders from the airline, airport, air navigation and aviation manufacturing, with oil prices at historic highs following the financial crisis that year. From that came a historic agreement reached at the ICAO Assembly in 2016 to facilitate carbon-neutral growth from 2020 through the use

of CORSIA. Although 78 states have volunteered for phase one from 2021 with a view to mandatory regulation from 2027, de Juniac bemoaned those that have veered from the path agreed at the ICAO Assembly. “It was very disappointing to see the EU, which has done so

much to promote CORSIA, undermine it by adopting its own MRV standards,” he wrote.

“European governments in Sweden, the Netherlands and elsewhere persist in adopting environmental taxes which run counter to the commitments made at ICAO.”

NORWEGIAN Willie Walshled IAG has pulled out of the race to acquire Norwegian.

DUBLiN Airport executive Brian Gallagher has been lured to Cork to promote their airport.

RYANAIR announced an early launch of over 150 routes for Winter2019, with flights bookable as far out as March 2020.

UNITED Airlines is reviewing an inci-

dent that left 250 passengers stuck on an airplane on a small Canadian airfield for almost half a day.

BA British Airways is repainting a Boeing 747 in Dublin in the colours of its predecessor, British Overseas Airways Corporation, from the 1964-1974 period.

DAA has lodged an appeal to An Bord

Pleanála against a €10m housing development which is planned for a site inside the Inner Airport Noise Zone in Dublin.

KPMG’s Aviation Industry Leaders Report 2019estimated 50pc of the world’s leased fleet is owned or managed from Ireland by 50 lessors with Irish operations, with 4 of the top 5 lessors originating their businesses here.

KPMG says the industry cycle has peaked and is tapering back from the very high growth rate of recent years.

BA World Traveller Plus customers will see new furnishings, an enhanced service and an improved dining experience as part of the airline’s £6.5bn investment plan with new menus available from February 1, a third main meal option, a more substantial hot second meal later in the flight followed by new amenity kits, quilts and pillows.

MARCH 2019 PAGE 28

THE FLYING COLUMN THOMAS COOK said it was will-

ing to sell its airline business which includes Thomas Cook, Condor (Germany), Thomas Cook Scandinavia and Thomas Cook Balearics, to raise cash and help it recover from a rough 2018 and weaker demand in 2019. The company said it was launching a strategic review as it needed more resources and financial flexibility after two profit warnings in quick succession late last year.

WIZZ Air reported Jan19 passengers up 10.0pc to 2.5m, with passenger load factor up 0.4 points to 88.1pc.

MALTA Transport Malta awarded an Air Operator Certificate to Freebird Airlines Europe. The Turkish airline will operate commercial flights within the EU with its first Maltese aircraft, an A320.

ROLLS ROYCE is to shift design

approval for large aero engines from Derby in England to Germany amid Brexit worries.

RYANAIR expanded its Ryanair Tickets service to include tickets for Spanish La Liga and Ligue 1 in France. football and rugby matches will be available over the coming weeks.

SMBC Aviation Capital agreed to buy

some 65 Airbus jets from Airbus, in the final hours of 2018

AIR TRANSAT is offering Dublin to

Canada from €297 return.

RYANAIR announced Shannon-Frank-

furt from May.

AVOLON is not being offered for sale

by HNA, a source close to the lessor says, contradicting a report published late last month.

KLM opened the first part of its nonSchengen Crown Lounge at Schiphol

AIR FRANCE announced that its routes operated by its regional fleet, and currently under the HOP ! brand, will now be marketed under the name Air France HOP. SRI LANKA’s government commit-

tee has recommended debt re-structuring and capital raising as the best way forward for loss-making state-run SriLankan Airlines.

KENYA Airways is questioning its future

as a SkyTeam alliance member, saying joint ventures might prove more valuable to the airline. Kenya Airways has a longstanding joint venture with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Air France joined the partnership in 2018. In addition to its other partnerships, Kenya is also building relations with Star Alliance member South African Airways

LUFTHANSA will bypass blocked plans for a third runway at Munich Airport by using larger planes to keep growing at its second-largest hub.

BLUE AIR took over Moldovan flag carrier Air Moldova as part of a consortium,

ALITALIA extended the development of its restructuring until mid-March 2019.

The board of Kerry airport, Ireland’s fastest growing

Regional growth

Three regional airports outpaced Dublin growth in 2018

K

erry and Belfast International are Ireland’s fastest growing airports now that final figures for 2018 are in for major airports.

Dublin now handles 68.7pc of air traffic on and off the island, up another percentage point from 2017.

Three regional airports are outgrowing Dublin, with Kerry on 9pc, Belfast International om 7.4pc, and Shannon up 6.5pc.

Airports are bullish about further growth in 2019: Cork say that passenger numbers will rise by a further 7pc in 2019 to 2.6m.

Dublin summer capacity will be up 4.4pc in 2019, suggesting passenger numbers will reach 32.9m.

Belfast International says it will see slower growth in 2019 and is citing capacity overload is imposing a brake on growth.

Shannon’s press release emphasised the fact they are 33pc ahead of the 2013 passenger numbers when they broke with DAA/Aer Rianta.

In the same period Dublin grew by 56.2pc, Belfast by 55.8pc, Knock by 16pc and Cork by 6pc.

Shannon are 49pc down from their

2006 peak and Cork 26.6pc down from their 2008 peak, figures that both airports will find difficult to regain at current growth rates.

AIRPORTS 2018 Belfast Int 6,269,025 +7.4% Belfast City 2,510,294 -1.9pc Cork 2,392,821 +3.7pc Derry 185,843 -4.2pc Dublin 31,495,506 +6pc Kerry 335,480 +8.9pc Knock 771,619 +3pc Shannon 1,864,762 +6.5pc

NORWEGIAN’S ‘UNNAMED INVESTORS’

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orwegian’s much anticipated 2018 full year and Q4 results showed margins are getting worse.

They were affected by engine issues, fuel losses (unfavourable rates are the price of source finance uncertainty) and tough competition in a period of strong growth.

Net loss of NOK1,454m was entirely down to fuel hedging, while unit costs, excluding fuel, are down 12pc. Revenue was up 30pc to NOK40bn, fleet increased by 25 boosting capacity by 37pc. Load factor was 85.8pc and passenger numbers up 13pc to 37m, one third the size of Ryanair.

Norwegian were upbeat,

saying five new B787-9s and 16 B737 MAXs in 2019 will have a lower operating cost, long-haul growth rate will drop in 2019, short-haul operations will be reduced with the closure of four bases in the Mediterranean, reallocating aircraft to strengthen the core Nordic markets and bringing total fleet at year end 2019 to 37.

Norwegian said the demand for travelling with Norwegian has been satisfactory and advance bookings have been acceptable entering 2019 Q1. Norwegian will continue to take advantage of its increasing competitive power realised through continuous cost efficiency. Norwegian will receive 5 new B787-9s and

16 B737 MAXs in 2019 with a lower operating cost. Norwegian will continue to divest B737-800 in 2019.

Not for the first time, Norwegian cited unnamed Asian investors to keep creditors at bay.

Geir Karlsen of Norwegian Air Shuttle reported on discussions to form a leasing joint venture between its Irish leasing arm, Arctic Aviation Assets, and a “very strong Asian company, the discussions are now involving our whole Airbus order book.

There are now three parties sitting around the same table. This is the reason why it is taking a bit longer than we wanted. We are going over every route.

We have already closed routes and bases, and we will probably see more of this going forward. If it turns out we have too many aircraft we will sell them.”

Airbus have agreed to postpone delivery of four A321LRs from 2019 to 2020 while Boeing agreed to delay delivery of twelve 737 Max 8s from 2020 to 2023 and 2024. Earlier this week, Arctic sold two A320neos due for delivery later this month.

Norwegian has reached an agreement with the B787 engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce and does not foresee that engine issues will affect its service going forward

MARCH 2019 PAGE 29

THE FLYING COLUMN FINNAIR are to fly Helsinki-Sapporo 2w

seasonal as their fifth Japanese destination, with AA330-300 from December 15, and become the first European carrier to serve Hokkaido since KLM ended service in Jan2002.

W -pattern pilgrimage fans will be interested in Ryanair’s new Lisbon -Lourdes route from April.

IATA Higher costs are putting a squeeze

on airline profits, IATA warned, with capacity rises of 6.8pc outstripping passenger demand. IATA warned that the decision of Westminster MPs to reject the Britain-EU Brexit agreement could lead to a cap on flights post March.

STANSTED Cork-born Stansted North runway from the air

Ready for take off

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businesses with the scale and experience required.

Along with adding the extra gates and stands, DAA wants to complete about €150m worth of work on its airfield and €50m in T1 and T2 by 2024.

SHANNON GETS LONGER PRE-CLEARANCE HOURS

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iall Maloney, Shannon Airport Director of Operations said the latest changes to the Ireland/US Preclearance agreement are a welcome announcement.

He said it will allow Shannon to extend itsUS Preclearance service.

Currently our US Pre-

clearance operates from 09:00am to 17:00 daily, but with the new US agreement we will now be able to extend these hours and offer an out of hours service. This is something which our executive jet customers in particular have requested. They see the time saving benefits

NORWEGIAN tells Travel Extra that

IBERIA

Niall Maloney

ETIHAD VACATES DUBLIN LOUNGE

Etihad lunge at Dublin

to its franchise arrangement with Stobart Air for Aer Lingus Regional services.

LUFTHANSA CEO Carsten Spohr has changed his mind and now wants Berlin-Tegel airport to remain open when the new Berlin-Brandenburg eventually opens and he wants Tegel updated.

Ryanair announced a tenth Moroccan airport, Tetouan, with 2w round trips to Malaga from April.

as it allows them to fly directly to their home airport from Shannon, rather having to go to a designated clearance airport in the US first before making the onward flight to their home airport.

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AER LINGUS says it is committed

US base closures will not impact flights from Ireland. Cuts at Norwegian mean that all routes Dublin Airport intends to hold out of Providence with the exception of Dublin briefing sessions for potential can- will be cancelled this year. didates in Dublin, London, Paris and TUI are pulling services from Derry in 2019 Madrid later this month and in early due to low demand, and say those who had February, including one for members booked have been rebooked at no extra charge of builders’ representative body, the on a Belfast flight the next day.

Construction Industry Federation.

APH reported priority boarders now accounting for more than half of the total passengers on board Ryanair flights.

DAA announces tenders for €1bn of renovations

ven as Leo Varadkar turned the sod in Dublin Airport’s new runway, Dublin Airport issued a notice on the Government’s e-tenders site to inform potential bidders for €1bn worth of work due to be completed in the early years of the next decade and to help it identify

Airport CEO Ken O’Toole argues that many “don’t have a clue what airlines want”, and talks of the vital €675m expansion at his crowded airport.

tihad is vacating its lounge at Dublin airport.

DAA are looking for an operator for a new premium lounge, aimed at east-bound passengers. What it calls the new ‘East Lounge’ will be located after security on the airside corridor between T1

and 2T2 in a newly-refurbished space. It is estimated that 25,000 passengers will use the facility every year.

The 340 sq m lounge will provide catering services under a partnership arrangement with the airport. Etihad passengers will be able to use the lounge.

relaunched its new corporate website, http://grupo.iberia.es, with a more modern, fresh, and intuitive design, providing exhaustive information about the company, its business, history, magnitudes, values, and philosophy.

AERCAP announced the delivery of a new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on long-term lease to EL AL making it the world’s largest lessor of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with 117 aircraft owned, managed and on order.

CELLO With the Commission of Avi-

ation Regulation wanting Irish tour operators not to use English airlines for charter work post-Brexit, Spanish based AlbaStar and Air Europa have been taking over contracts from the defunct Birmingham operator Cello.

MURCIA A Ryanair flight from East Midlands was the first flight to arrive at the new Airport of Corvera, which replaces the civil use of San Javier as the airport for Murcia. .

MARCH 2019 PAGE 30

THE FLYING COLUMN CHRISTOPH MUELLER,

Aer Lingus CEO from 2009 to 2016, has resigned as Emirates Chief Digital and Transformation Officer and plans to return to Europe, despite rumours linking him to Etihad.

PARC Pre-tax profits at Parc Aviation increased by 17pcto €3.78m to end March 18.

Revenues were up by 7pc to €134.45m.

SPATIALIS UAE-based Spatialis to

manufacture an A321NX Extended Over Wing Exit Trainer at Aer Lingus’s Training Academy based at Dublin Airport to enable Aer Lingus’s cabin crew to be trained in passenger service and Safety and Emergency Procedures.

AER LINGUS is to add a fifth weekly flight on Thursdays on the Dublin-Seattle route from June 6-October 17.

DUBLIN Airport welcomed Hainan’s new service from Dublin to Shenzen, a mere two weeks after it was revealed in the Sunday Supplement.

BA British Airways will be moving to JFK T8 with American Airlines in 2022 after 50 years in T7, allowing T7 to be demolished to allow for JetBlue’s new terminal, which will cover the areas of the current T5, T6 (demolished in 2011) and T7.

AIR FRANCE is to change its HOP !branding to Air France HOP to “link the regional flight offer more clearly to the Air France brand”.Services from Cork-CDG remain unchanged.

AER LINGUS and the Bank of

Ireland have launched a credit card aimed at frequent fliers with the airline. Christine Hamill, Head of Retail Cards at Bank of Ireland, is pictured with Susanne Carberry, Director of Revenue Management at Aer Lingus.

IAG Willie Walsh told the Irish Tourism In-

dustry Confederation that Aer Lingus could not deliver on its ambitions as a stand-alone airline but IAG knew the business well and the value of the brand and stood behind it. Watch here

CHICAGO’s O’Hare International Airport has overtaken Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson as the US’s busiest airport, with 903,747 arriving and departing flights last year.

LAUDAMOTION is targeting

routes to 50 airports following its full takeover

by Ryanair Holdings.

ADDIS ADABA’s new $363m terminal which will boost passenger capacity from 8m to 22m a year at Bole Airport was officially opened by Ethiopian Airlines.

GENERAL ELECTRIC has no plans to sell Gecas,its Shannon-based aviation finance arm, CEO Larry Culp said.

QANTAS Tallaght born CEO Alan Joyce said Perth-London services have load factor of 91pc since the route was launched in March 2018 and generated AU$100m in free publicity for Western Australia.

DUBAI 89.15m passengers passed through Dubai International last year.

Ryanair aircraft at Dublin airport: Brexit threatens the new Dublin-Southend route

FR to grow 5pc

Ryanair to launch four new bases in summer 2019

R

yanair summer seat capacity is up 5pc, with 182 new routes and 150 gone.

Ryanair remains Europe’s leading airline as measured by seat departures from European airports.

For the 12 months ending March 2019 the airline currently expects to have welcomed over 140 million passengers, an increase of 8pc on the previous year.

Ryanair’s network this summer will encompass 92 bases across Europe and North Africa At present Ryanair’s flights and seat capacity are set to grow by a relatively modest 5.1pc in S19 compared with S18, though ASKs (Available Seat Kilometres) are set to rise by 6pc, reflecting an increase in average sector length from 1,282 kilometres to 1,293 kilometres.

The airline is due to start taking delivery of its first five new 737 MAX 200s this spring, with 42 deliveries planned between August 2019 and March 2020.

These are likely to be configured 2019 Jan 10.0m

with 197 seats instead of the current 189 seats on its 737-800s.

This change will increase the summer seat capacity a little further.

The base in Germany is Berlin SXF in 11th while the leading French airport is Paris BVA, which is not technically a base, but is Ryanair’s 24th biggest airport this summer.

This summer will see Ryanair launch four new bases; two in France (Bordeaux and Marseille), one in Germany (Berlin Tegel) and one in England (Southend).

The Berlin base is the airline’s second in the German capital after Schonefeld, a base that is really just using the slots used by Laudamotion, which launched its base at the airport on June 1 last and served 18 destinations last summer.

Ryanair is serving 19 destinations having replaced Bari, Fuerteventura, Girona, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Rijeka and Tenerife south with Alghero, Alicante, Kefalonia, Krakow, Lamezia Terme, Luxembourg, Naples and Pafos.

The two French airports have both been served for many years by Ryanair. While Marseille will see seat capacity grow by 27pc, capacity at Bordeaux will increase by 150pc.

The launch of flights from London Southend in early April will mean that Ryanair now flies from four of London’s six airports (the exceptions being Heathrow and London City).

Subject to Brexit restrictions such as the aviation cap being removed, the Southend base will offer flights to 14 international destinations, four of which (Alicante, Faro, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca) are already served by easyJet from the airport..

Ryanair January passenger numbers were up 11pc to 10.3m, the first time it has passed 10m in January.

Load factor was 91pc and rolling annual numbers passed 140m for the first time.

New Ryanair routes announced for summer 2019 include Bristol-Malpensa 2w; Malpensa-Palma 3w; Lamezia Terme-Palma and Bordeaux, each 2w.

RYANAIR MONTHLY PASSENGER NUMBERS 2018 Dec 10.0m Nov 10.1m Oct 12.6m Sept 12.6m Aug 13.3m July 13.1m June 12.6m May 12.5m April 12.3m Mar 10.0m Feb 8.6m Jan 9.3m

2017 Dec 9.3m Nov 9.3m Oct 11.8m Sept 11.8m Aug 12.7m July 12.6m June 11.8m May 11.8m Apr 11.3m Mar 9.4m Feb 8.2m Jan 8.77m

2016 Dec 9m Nov 8.8m Oct 10.9m Sep 10.8m Aug 11.5m Jul 11.3m Jun 10.6m May 10.6m Apr 9.90m Mar 8.5m Feb 7.4m Jan 7.48m

2015 Dec 7.5m Nov 7.71m Oct 9.68m Sep 9.55m Aug 10.4m Jul 10.14m Jun 9.5m May 9.5m Apr 9.0m Mar 8.5m Feb 7.4m Jan 7.48m

2014 Dec 6.02m Nov 6.35m Oct 8.4m Sept 8.5m Aug 9.4m Jul 9.1m Jun 8.3m May 8.2m Apr 7.8m Mar 5.2m Feb 4.5m Jan 4.6m

2013 Dec 5.0m Nov 5.2m Oct 8.0m Sept 8.0m Aug 9.0m Jul 8.8m Jun 8.0m May 7.9m Apr 7.4m Mar 5.4m Feb 4.2m Jan 4.4m

MARCH 2019 PAGE 31

TRAVEL WRITER AWARDS 2019 Melanie May, winner of the Best Newcomer (Gerry OíHare Award), presented by Sharon Jordan of Uniworld and Eoghan Corry,

Isabel Conway, winner of Best Skiing, presented

by Michelle Anderson of Topflight and Gastein Tourist Board Austria and Eoghan Corry

Pol O Conghaile, Best Home Market (Ireland) story, presented by Suzanne Coogan and Laoise Donnelly of Failte Ireland and Eoghan Corry,

Tom Sweeney, winner of Best Digital Media, presented by Paul Hackett of Click&Go and Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra

Fiona Cunningham of TourismNI, David Gordon winner of the award for best Northern Ireland article, and Eoghan Corry

Gemma Fullam, winner of Best Short Haul, presented by Barbara Stack of Sunway and Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra

Pól Ó Conghaile is writer of year

P

ól Ó Conghaile was presented with the Travel Extra Journalist of the Year Award at a ceremony held to coincide with the annual Holiday World Show.

Ten other winners, each for different holidaying categories, were announced on the Friday night of the show at a dinner in Thomas Prior House, Ballsbridge which was attended by the cream of Irish travel and tourism writers and broadcasters.

The event was sponsored by the Spanish Tourism Office and Costa Daurada. The award winners were chosen by a distinguished panel of senior Irish journalists. This year saw a huge increase in the number of submissions from previous years, displaying the creativity and continuing innovation of travel and tourism journalism in Ireland.

Best Newcomer sponsored by Insight, Melanie May, Tokyo in the Sunday Times.

Best Digital Media sponsored

by ClickandGo, Tom Sweeney on Transylvania Best Broadcasting sponsored by TUI: Manchan Magan, TG4.

Best Northern Ireland sponsored

by Tourism Northern Ireland.

David Gordon, Navigating the

Overall award winner Pól Ó Conghaile presented by Teresa Gancedo, Director of the Spanish Tourism Office, Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra and Benet Presas of Costa Daurada, North, Irish Daily Mail.

Cassidy Travel. David Burke, Home market (Ireland) story Tuam Herald, Japan. sponsored by Fáilte Ireland. Pól Travel Extra Travel Writer of Ó Conghaile Blaskets, Irish In- the Year (overall) sponsored by the dependent Spanish Tourism Office (Ireland).

Best Adventure sponsored by Pól Ó Conghaile.

UWalk.ie. Madeleine Keane, BotPrevious winners of the overall swana, Sunday Independent award were: 2002 Cleo Murphy, Best Skiing sponsored by Top- 2003-4 Pól Ó Conghaile, 2005 flight & Gastein Tourist Board Kathryn Thomas, 2006 Muriel BolAustria: Isabel Conway, Pam- ger, 2007 Philip Nolan, 2008 Pól Ó porovo, Sunday World Conghaile, 2009 Mark Evans, 2010 Best Short Haul: sponsored by Philip Nolan 2011 Isabel Conway Sunway: Gemma Fullam, Der- 2012 Sue Morris, 2013, 14, 15 Pól vishes of Vienna, Sunday In- Ó Conghaile, 2016 Isabel Conway, dependent.

2017 Yvonne Gordon, 2018 Mal Best Long Haul sponsored by Rogers 2019 Pól Ó Conghaile

Madelaine Keane, winner of Best Adventure, presented by Martin Skelly of uWalk.ie and Eoghan Corry, editor of Travel Extra

David Burke of the Tuam Herald, winner of the long haul category in the Travel Extra travel writer of the years awards

Winners enclosure at the Travel Extra Travel Journalist of the Year 2018 at the Clayton Hotel, Ballsbridge in Dublin. Melanie May, Tom Sweeney, Eoghan Corry, Gemma Fullam, Isabel Conway. Front row: Yvonne Gordon representing Manchan Magan, Pol O Conghaile, Madeleine Keane and Miriam Burke representing David Burke, Picture; Arthur Carron

123008 ITTS 2019 DPS.qxp_123008 ITTS 2019 DPS 2/19/19 12:23 PM Page 1

Presented by

List of Exhibitors by Category: AIRLINES

Aegean Airlines Air Canada Air France Air Transat American Airlines Cathay Pacific Airways China Airlines Croatia Airlines Delta Air Lines Emirates Finnair Hahn Air Lines GmbH KLM Qantas Airways Turkish Airlines

AIRPORTS

Cork Airport Dublin Airport Ireland West Airport

BEDBANKS

BEDSONLINE SLU Bookabed Expedia TAAP Globe Hotels Innstant Travel STUBA

BUS / COACH / CAR / RAIL Hertz Car Hire Holiday Taxis

CRUISE LINES

Celebrity Cruises MSC Cruises Riviera Travel Royal Caribbean International Silversea Cruises Uniworld Boutique River Cruises

FERRIES

Irish Ferries Stena Line

GROUND HANDLER Viajes Euroamerica

HOTELS INTERNATIONAL

AMG Aqua Suites Lanzarote Constantinou Bros Hotels Corpolación H10 Hotels Costa Sal Villas and Suites Grecotel Hotels & Resorts Hotel Botanico & The Oriental Spa Garden Iberostar Hotels and Resorts My Booking Rewards Riu Hotels & Resorts Seaside Hotels Gran Canaria

TOURIST ORGANISATION Alentejo Promotion Office Andalucia Tourist Board ATOUT France Cambrils Tourism Board Costa Daurada Tourism Board

Discovery Puglia Explore St Louis Fuerteventura Tourism Board Galicia Tourism Board Garmisch-Partenkirchen Tourist Office Gran Canaria Tourist Board Great Lakes North America Jamaica Tourist Board Lanzarote Tourist Board Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Loire Valley Tourism Lourdes Tourist Office Madrid Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board PARADORES Salou Tourism Board Spanish Tourism Office Tabago Tourism Turkish Culture and Tourism Office Vila-seca-La Pineda Tourism Board Visit Finland Visit Portugal VisitFLANDERS

THEME & LEISURE PARKS

SERVICES

Accident & General Aiken Insurances O’Leary Insurances (Dublin) Travel & General Insurance Services

Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) Limelight Communications

TECHNOLOGY

Amadeus Marketing Ireland Dolphin Dynamics Holidayguru.ie Sabs Travel Technologies Travelport

www.irishtraveltradeshow.com

Loro Parque Poema Del Mar PortAventura World Siam Park

TOUR OPERATOR / TRAVEL AGENTS Best Holidays In Italy Holidayguru.ie Insight Vacations JMG Travel Luxury Gold MAP Travel Mercury Holidays Sunway Travel Travel Focus Travel Solutions Travel the Unknown TUI Unique Japan Tours Wendy Wu Tours Worldchoice

TRAVEL INSURANCE

TRAVEL REPRESENTATION

ATTS Travel Representation Solutions Headon Representation

S

Venue

Timetable

RDS Hall 3, Ballsbridge Anglesea Road Dublin D04 AK83

Thursday March 21 • Trade Show: 2pm – 6pm • Networking Event: 6pm - 9pm

Visit

st

Pre-register: www.irishtraveltradeshow.com

Sponsors:

A-Z List of Exhibitors: Accident & General Aegean Airlines Aiken Insurances Air Canada Air France Air Transat Alentejo Promotion Office Amadeus Marketing Ireland American Airlines AMG Andalucia Tourist Board Aqua Suites Lanzarote ATOUT France ATTS Travel Representation Solutions BEDSONLINE SLU Best Holidays In Italy Bookabed Cambrils Tourism Board Cathay Pacific Airways Celebrity Cruises China Airlines Constantinou Bros Hotels Cork Airport Corpolación H10 Hotels Costa Daurada Tourism Board Costa Sal Villas and Suites Croatia Airlines

Delta Air Lines Discovery Puglia Dolphin Dynamics Dublin Airport Emirates Expedia TAAP Explore St Louis Finnair Fuerteventura Tourism Board Galicia Tourism Board Garmisch-Partenkirchen Tourist Office Globe Hotels Gran Canaria Tourist Board Great Lakes North America Grecotel Hotels & Resorts Hahn Air Lines GmbH Headon Representation Hertz Car Hire Holiday Taxis Holidayguru.ie Hotel Botanico & The Oriental Spa Garden Iberostar Hotels and Resorts Innstant Travel Insight Vacations Ireland West Airport Irish Ferries Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA)

Jamaica Tourist Board JMG Travel KLM Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Lanzarote Tourist Board Limelight Communications Loire Valley Tourism Loro Parque Lourdes Tourist Office Luxury Gold Madrid Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board MAP Travel Mercury Holidays MSC Cruises My Booking Rewards O’Leary Insurances (Dublin) PARADORES Poema Del Mar PortAventura World Qantas Airways Riu Hotels & Resorts Riviera Travel Royal Caribbean International Sabs Travel Technologies Salou Tourism Board Seaside Hotels Gran Canaria

www.irishtraveltradeshow.com

Siam Park Silversea Cruises Spanish Tourism Office Stena Line STUBA Sunway Travel Tabago Tourism Travel & General Insurance Services Travel Focus Travel Solutions Travel the Unknown Travelport TUI Turkish Airlines Turkish Culture and Tourism Office Unique Japan Tours Uniworld Boutique River Cruises Viajes Euroamerica Vila-seca-La Pineda Tourism Board Visit Finland Visit Portugal VisitFLANDERS Wendy Wu Tours Worldchoice

MARCH 2019 PAGE 34

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Inside the Travel Business

BLUE INSURANCES Ciaran Mulligan is following up Blue Insurance’s wina-car competition for agents with a new prize draw for the consumer market. Donna Kenny from Cassidy Travel, won a new Toyota hybrid last month.

BRAND USA is inviting registration for the 2019 megafam, usadiscoveryprogram. co.uk/megafamto compete for a place on one of seven itineraries across the USA before a two day finale in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona.

Entries close March 29 2019.

TRAVEL PARTNERS This year’s Travel Partners Group roadshow starts in Waterford on March 7, followed by Cork on April 11; Galway, May 9; Dublin, May 22; Dundalk, September 12; and Belfast, September 25. Attendees will be entered into a €1,000 cash prize draw. The Irish Travel Agents Association has relocated to 20 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. The phone number will remain the same. While they are still unpacking boxes, they say members are welcome to drop in and visit the new setup.

AMERICAN Holidays’ sales and sup-

port teams will be moving this month from their present Duke Street home in Dublin. The sales team will be in new offices in nearby Exchequer Street. Meanwhile, Cathy Burke’s Travel Counsellors head office has moved to new surroundings, pictured, in the same Cork building.

CLICKANDGO reported prices rose for Kusadasi holidays last year, which rebounded as an alternative to Spain and Portugal, while prices fell for bookings to Tenerife.

Happier times: Team Malev Jenny Guzman, Irene Scanlan, Ger Aherne, GM Cathyann Markey and Renata Filippo, trade support agent, at the opening of Malev Irish offices in Maynooth, October 17 2006

I

Cash eventually

Travel agents get compensated for Malev crash

reland’s travel agents are to get compensation for the Malév crash, eventually, seven years after the airline failed on February 3 2012.

Five figure compensation payments are being made to Irish travel agents who were out of pocket when the airline left clients stranded.

The Malév collapse highlighted the holes in consumer compensation legislation that have never been addressed. Airlines are not liable to bonding, leaving consumers with no compensation or repatriation rights.

Irish travel agents who were

bonded and liable to repatriation and compensation, had to pay out of their own pocket. Airlines did not honour Malév on codeshare flights and crew were forced to buy tickets out of their own pockets to get home, in common with airline failures in the years since.

On 9 January 2012, the European Union declared that the state aid received by Malév was illegal and ordered Hungary to recover it from the company.

The European Commission ordered Malév to repay various forms of state aid received from 2007 to

2010, totalling €130m; a sum equal to its entire 2010 revenue.

At the end of January 2012, MALÉV announced that it could no longer fund its own operations, and requested more subsidies from the Hungarian government, After having two aircraft seized at foreign airports by creditors, Malév immediately ceased all flight activity on 3 February 2012, after 66 years of continuous operation.

A large portion of the fleet was held by Irish leasing companies who returned the aircraft to Shannon.

CLASSIC COLLECTION

Joanne Conlon from Centre Travel Dundalk is the latest winner for a place on Classic Collection Holidays’ VIP fam to Lisbon. Two more places are up for grabs in February and March.

HAINAN Expanding Hainan Airlines is looking for an Account Manager to be based in Dublin.

TOPFLIGHT launched its Cork-Sor-

rento season at a photocall in London. The direct flights to Naples join its current programme offering the Lake Garda area to holidaymakers in Munster.

TTC Tanya and Philip Airey of Sunway were invited to an exclusive dinner in London arranged by Travel Weekly group and The Travel Corporation.

TIGS The Travel Industry Golf Society

calendar for 2019 has been released with (cunningly) three Friday fixtures for the first time: Friday 22 March - St Margaret’s Co Dublin. Thursday 18 April - Greenore Co Louth. Thursday 16 May - Esker Hills Tullamore. Friday 21 June - Palmerstown House, Johnstown, Co Kildare (President’s Prize). Friday 26 July - Beaverstown Donabate. Tuesday 10 September - Killeen Castle Dunsany, (Captain’s Prize). Thursday 3 October - The Castle Golf Club Rathfarnham, sponsored by Travel Extra.

Repossessed Malév aircraft at Shannon airprot on february 2 2012

2019 Flybmi Germania

2018 Cobalt

Skyworks ( VLM Small Planet Azur Air Cello Primera JetGo NextJet Nature Air Latin American Wings Pawa Dominica Polar Airlines Fly Viking

2017 Niki Air

Darwin Airlines Air Berlin Island Air Royal Falcon Monarch Airlines GLO Airlines Rainbow Airlines Mega Maldives Airlines Wings of Alaska Citywings

173 AIRLINE FAILURES IN TEN YEARS Air Australia Cargoitalia 2016 2013 TAS-Air Pty Pacific Blue Airlines Tiara Air Haiti Aviation TransAsia Airways Seaport Airlines SAFI Airways Aero Contractors Fly Lapland Air Pegasus VLM Airlines Fly Salone SOL S.A. Líneas Aéreas Skywise

2015 SkyGreece

Intersky Estonia Air Transaero Supreme Airlines Korongo Airlines Syphax Airlines Air Lituanica EuroLot SkyMark Airlines Hamburg Airways Cyprus Airways SkyTrans Pty TigerAir Mandala

2014 UT Air

Moskovia Airlines Carpatair Krohns Air

Link Airs Danube Wings Belle Air Flynonstop A.S Dagestant Airlines Dutch Antiles Express Saha Airlines Orbest Orizonia Airlines, S.A. (formerly Iberworld Airlines, S.A) Red Wings Armavia Bahrain Air Batavia Air OLT Express Germany Aerosvit Airlines

2012 Kuban Airlines

JetLink Express Air Malawi 1Time Airlines SOL Airlines Air Finland Skyways Airlines and City Airline Cimber Sterling Airlines Gabon Airways Air Zimbabwe

Malev Airlines Czech Connect Airlines Spanair Cirrus Airlines Kentucky Skies Aeroperlas OLT Express Air Tran Airways Jetlite Aerosur Velvet Sky Norfolk Air Air Finland (Charter) Windjet Varig Logistica PLUNA Team Linhas Aereas Direct Air USA300 Airlines Mint Airways REDJet Tennessee Skies

2011 Astreaus airlines

Avianova KMV Airlines Air Southwest Robin Hood Airlines Wataniya Airways 2nd Sverdlovsk Enterprise Pyrenair

Fly Oristano Comtel Airlines Prima Aero Tranporti Italiani Dubrovnik Airlines Fly Hellas Sky Express Moscow Airlines Albanian Airlines Lotus Air Dagestan Airlines Avial NV Lufthansa Italia Yak Service Gomelavia Mandala Airlines Transavia Denmark Sun d’Or International Airlines Air Cuenca Amsterdam Airlines Novosibirsk Air Enterprise Pamir Airways Atlantic Southeast Airlines Aviaenergo Tor Air Airstars Jade Cargo International Hewa Bora Airways Zambezi Airlines Aviasca

Great Wall Airlines Coral Blue Airlines Naturelink Aviation City Airlines Continent Airlines Vildanden Airlines Air Mat

2010 Hamburg Inter-

national Cyprus Turkish Airlines Iraq Airlines VIVA Macau Highland Airways Varsity Express Air Slovakia Quantum Air Interlink Airlines Air Jamaica Eurocypria Fly Direct Sun Country Airlines Region Avia Aviacsa Blue Wings Ghana Airways Viking Airlines AB (Sweden) Star1 Airlines Sky Service Mexicana PalmAir

MARCH 2019 PAGE 35

WINDOW SEAT

Buying a bento box at the station before boarding the bullet train and Kieran Farrelly and Darina photographed at Himeji Castle

Busman’s holiday: Darina Slattery

Every month we ask a leading travel professional to write about their personal holiday experience. This month: Darina Slattery of Unique Japan Tours

M

y passion has been Japan since I was probably 15 years old. I’ve spent much of my holiday time exploring new parts inside Japan. The best thing about going to Japan is I can holiday, while work. So Japan still remains my regular holiday destination.

I come third in our family of five so I was usually left at home when they traveled abroad. Most of my memories of Summer holidays as a child are on my aunts tillage farm in Co Meath. Being outdoors for the day running through the fields, climbing bails of hay, picking potatoes, and riding ponies.

The travel bug started when I was 14 years old.

I

Off I went on my own to live with a strange family in Corsica Island for one month. The next year to France, then the following year to Germany.

I loved languages in school so when it came to choosing third level, I saw Japanese on the list and went straight for that! So I suppose I have always loved the solo outdoor adventure from an early age.

I was always going to be in business.

My Dad, Chris Slattery, a West of Ireland Mayo man, is the ultimate entrepreneur. He went from owning his own construction company in the 1960’s & 70’s to then buying into the country house scene in the early 80s.

Since then, himself and my mum have built The Station House in Kilmessan Co Meath from, what once was our home, into a leading wedding venue, hotel & restaurant.

In the 1990’s, we spent five years living at Killeen Castle which Chris was responsible for planning the development of the Championship golf club and hotel.

Unfortunately that fell through when his overseas investors pulled out at the start of the Gulf war. So, having a taste of being a princess of our own castle, and seeing how exciting the world of business was by my parents, I was destined to own my own.

After spending four years in Japan during my University and post Uni years, I returned home to do a Masters at Smurfit School of Business. It was there I put my plan in place for Japan Ireland Travel, which has organically grown into a globally recognised brand Unique Japan Tours.

We now employ 15 people across 4 countries. Rugby World Cup 2019, Tokyo Olympics 2020, and Japan in general on a rapid upward trend as a holiday destination has allowed us expand into other markets such as the US,

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

t is not just in Farmer’s Cross that they fret about the future of long-haul low-cost.

The entire venture will be damaged, if not endangered should Norwegian’s attempts to open up this sector with those magnificent flights to Newburgh and Providence come to an end.

Norwegian’s problem, as someone put it so succinctly, is that it is not a long-haul, low-cost airline, but a long-haul, low-fare one.

Recently in Dublin, Wilie Walsh opined that it had chosen the wrong aircraft to launch the operation, and the fuel savings delivered by the 787 will not be enough to save the airline.

The rise of low-fare start-ups such as Norwegian has reduced the share of seats across the Atlantic carried by the big three European airlines and their joint-venture partners from 80pc in 2015 to 72pc.

IAG has sued Level and, to a lesser

extent, Aer Lingus to bulwark itself against the rise of a Ryanair of the ocean.

The losses that Norwegian racked up in order to stimulate demand were not steep enough to trouble a big airline group with deep pockets. But Norwegian, which is heavily indebted, cannot easily absorb them. It has grown too quickly with too weak a balance-sheet. That is bad news for all of us.

Canada, Australia & New Zealand.

However, I love nothing more than escaping to absolute nothingness. So far Nepal, Peru and India have been my favourite spots.

Walking for days and sleeping in local lodges (and often tents) along the mountain trails are what I love most about being out in the open air. Meeting locals, eating home grown local foods, no mobile phones, staying active, spectacular endless views, detoxing from everyday chaos, and going back to basics are what I enjoy most about these trips. I have yet to explore Patagonia, Cuba and Antartica. I really love skiing too – Hokkaido (Niseko resort with adults or Rusutsu resort with family) in Japan are definitely my favourite skiing destination.

Donegal would be my favourite place in Ireland. The wilderness and wild winds from the top of Mallon Head – you just can’t beat them.

IN YOUR NEXT TRAVEL EXTRA: Available to Travel Agents or online March 19 2019

CRUISE ISSUE Celebrity Edge update DUBLIN AS A HOMEPORT New builds coming

u

MARCH 2019 PAGE 36

MEETING PLACE

ette Young of TUI, Simon Eaton and Antoin Holiday World Dublin

at

Willie Walsh CEO of IAG Dalata, Irish Tourism Ind and Stephen McNally of ustry Awards

nColette Desmond of Ma Catherine O’Hara and ce ren nfe Co d lan Ire ice ning Travel, Worldcho

Danielle O’Keeffe, Sa rah Gore and Raya Sa ntagati of Shandon Tra vel, Worldchoice Irelan d Conference

ie stport Travel and Conn Lorraine Walsh of We vel, Worldchoice Ireland Tra r Galligan of Mullinga Conference

Rachael Donnelly and Amanda Sharkey of Gr ham Travel, Worldcho enice Ireland Conference

Out and about with the Travel Trade

Yvonne Muldoon and Jenny Rafter of Aer Lingus Directors of the Spanish Gancedo (2016-), GonzaTB in Dublin, Teresa with Sharon Jordan of The Travel Corporation, and Jose Manuel de Jua lo Ceballos (2011-16) Irish Tourism Industry Awards n (2006-11), at Fitur

Declan Power, Shannon Airport, Jenny Rafter, John Spollen, Yvonne Muldoon, Aer Lingus, and Ivan Beacomb, at the Aer Lingus rebrand reveal,

Shane Ross Tourism minister and Joan O’Shaughnessy chair of Tourism Ireland, Irish Tourism Industry Awards

ith Chuter of British Air Brenda Morgan and Ke ra Magee of British Ta d an s ways, Greg Evan ustry Awards Airways, Irish Travel Ind

Will Walsh, of Gohop; Be Centres; and Alan Pre rnie Burke of Travel sto chef Damian Wawrzyni n, Clickandgo, with TV ak at Polish 4 Cities

Filippo Rocchi, Anita Thomas and Michael Meagher of Emirates, Irish Tourism Industry Awards

ribr Callister of Royal Ca Ben Bouldin and Jennife blin Du bean, at Holiday World

Ciaran Mulligan with Paul Hackett of ClickandGo at the Aer Lingus rebrand reveal,

Leslie Cullen and Toni Fe Lee Osborne of Booka nnell of Abbey Travel, bed, Marie Byrne of Ab Travel, Worldchoice Ire bey land Conference

Maureen Ledwith.of Business Exhibitions and Eugene Magee exITAA President and Eugene Magee Travel, Holiday World Dublin January 26

Thomas of USA Travel Cathy Reynolds and Jo ktail in Dublin. at the Vist USA IPW coc

MARCH 2019 PAGE 37

Out and about with the Travel Trade

the Spanish TB and Hector Gómez CEO of Spanish TB, at Fitur in Teresa Gancedo of the Madrid,

Blaithin O’Donnell of Air rison of Shannon Airpo Canada and Isabel Harrt, Irish Travel Industry Awards

and Spanish TB in London Paco Gutierrez of the rthern Ireland Tourism Doreen McKenzie of No lfast Be Alliance,Spanish TB in

Carmel Hayes of Stran d Phelan and Linda Byrne Travel with Sophie choice Ireland Conferen of Strand Travel Worldce

sel, John Cassidy of Ca David O’Grady of E-trav Harrison MD of Dublin t sidy Travel and Vincen s travel trade event Airport, American Airline

Helen Fyfe of Lufthan sa, United Irish Travel Ind Martina Coogan of ustry Awards

MEETING PLACE

A trefoil of Aer LIngus CEOs, Willie Walsh, Sean Olwen McKinney, Amadeus, with Ciaran MulDoyle and Stephen Kavanagh at the Aviaton clubligan, Blue Insurance, at the cocktail rec ep tion be for e the Irish Travel Industry Aw event in Hibernian Stephen’s Green Club ards

Tourism Ireland’s Louise Finnegan and Niall Gibvel, Fiona Dobbyn of Ann Davis of Abbey Tra Noonan of American bons, Aer Lingus rebrand reveal, na Classic Resorts and Fio ry Awards ust Airlines, Irish Travel Ind

John Devereux of Travelopia/American Holidays Maria Melia of the Dept of Transport and Pa ul with Natalia Bel and Benet Presas of Salou Tour- Kelly CEO of Failte Ireland, Irish Tourism Ind ustry Awards ism, Irish Travel Industry Awards

Caitriona Toner of American Airlines and Aidan Coughlan of WTC, American Airlines travel trade event

l of ventura and Norma Hil Carlota Farrial of Porta t lfas Be in TB ish Norma Hill Travel,Span

John Devereux of/American Holidays, Tom Lattig Theresa Plunkett of O’Donohoe Travel of American Airlines and Noeleen Lynch of Atlas Janet Cahill, Dawn Nolan of O’Leary with Travel and Amanda Finn of O’Don Travel, American Airlines travel trade event ohoe Travel, Worldcho ice

American Holidays’ Bladhana Richardson and John Devereux at the Aer Lingus rebrand reveal,

of Munds and Mary King Suzanne Furlong, Cora rldchoice Ireland ConferWo d, lan Worldchoice Ire ence

MARCH 2019 PAGE 38

MEETING PLACE

Out and about with the Travel Trade

a Dawn Conway of Sunway and Kristin Skinner of Spanish Tourism’s Sara Rivero Lo pe lusia Tourism and Teres Antonio Martin of Anda TB, at Fitur in Madrid, American Holidays, Irish Travel Industry Awards ryn MacDonnell, Irish Travel Indust z and Kathry Awards ish an Sp 20 the 19 of , do Gance

Olwen McKinney of Am adeus and John Bergi n of Skytours, Irish Travel Industry Awards

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list d Airways; car-prize fina nKaren Maloney, Etiha ma Sa d an ; urs To Walsh Margaret Kilduff of Joe nce, at Blue Insurance tha Warren, Blue Insura

Bre Des Manning, Suzie Muldoeney and Aisling Ryan Hu ndan Mallon of Oasis Travel and Andrea nter of Aer LIngus,Spa of Manning Travel, Worldchoice Ireland Confernish TB in Belfast ence

Riona Burke and Avril McGrath of Grogan Travel with Ciara Keane and Grainne Small of Corrib Travel, Worldchoice Ireland Conference

vel Gillicuddy of Abbey Tra Brian Ormond, Kate Mc an Travel, Worldchoice en Ne of and Elisha Bernie Ireland Conference

lBrian Jackson of Belfas reilly and Katrina McMu Craig Donnelly of Accident & General with Carot Int Olivia Flanagan, Aisling rldchoice Ireland Confer- line Kerr and Linda Collins of American Holidays. Brian Jackson of Belfast ernational Airport and International Airport, Wo , vel Tra van Fitur in Madrid, at lan of Na Worldchoice Ireland Conference ence

Declan Power of Shan no nell of Classic Collection n airport, Niall McDonTropical Sky, Irish Tra and Dave Hennessy of vel Industry Awards

Michael Lennon of Westport Woods Hotel President of the IHF and MIchael Vaughan, Irish Tourism Industry Awards

nning Travel and Janet Catherine O’Hara of Ma Worldchoice Ireland , Cahill of O’Leary Travel Conference

MARCH 2019 PAGE 39

Out and about with the Travel Trade

MEETING PLACE

list Carol Anne O’Neill of ways, and car-prize fina Kathy Cashe of Sunway and Cathy Burke of Worldchoice Ireland an Onur Gull, Turkish Air erica d Ben Bouldin of Royal Am ur To Travel Counsellors, Irish Travel Industry Awards of Caribbean, Irish Travel k Alice Carric Indu str y Aw ard s at Blue Insurance

Marie Byrne, Fiona Clu skey, Kate McGillycud dy and Toni Fennell of Ab bey Travel, Worldchoice Ireland Conference

ren

n O’Dowd and Ka Etihad Airways’ Shanno nce ura Maloney at Blue Ins

Michelle McDonagh, Ziv Helen McCormack of ile Mikalauskiene and Navan Travel, Worldcho Ireland Conference ice

Andrew MurSara Rivero of Spanish TB, Juana Rosa Aleman Vincent Harrison MD Dublin Airport, O’Connell ac rm Co of Gran Canariua Tourism, and Teresa Gancedo phy MD Shannon Airport and Awards ry of the Spanish TB, Irish Travel Industry Awards of Dublin Airport, Irish Tourism Indust

Brian Ormond and Carol Anne O’Neill of World- Debbie Murray of Ke ith Prowse, Geraldine choice Ireland with award winners Sunway, Deir- Fadden of Costa Sa Mcl dre Sweeny, Jeanette Taylor and Mary Denton Shannon Airport, Wo and Isabel Harrison of rldchoice Ireland Confe rence

Dermot Merrigan of Irish Ferries, Helen Maguire of Mackin Travel and Pearse Keller of Keller Travel, Worldchoice Ireland Conference

the Sara Zimmermann of Jamie Airey of Sunway, resa Gancedo of the d Te Travel Department an Industry Awards Spanish TB, Irish Travel

An- Caroline Clare and Gillian O’Flaherty of Blackpool Paul Gallagher of Buswell’s Hotel, Tim Fe Insurance, with MSC’s Ciaran Mulligan, Blue h Travel Industry Awards Travel, Gala ball at Travel Centres conference in of the IHF and Joe Dolan of the Bush Ho nn CEO tel Carrick-on-Shannon, Irish tonio Paradiso at the Iris Tourism Industry Award Fota, Cork, s 24 ry ua 2019, Jan

Connie Galligan of Mu llin Grenham of Grenham gar Travel and Pauline Travel, Worldchoice Ire land Conference -

Jackie Carroll, Rose Bergin and Trudy Carmody on the Laois stand at at Holiday World Dublin

orld Travel and Dave Stephen Aston of Clubw vel Industry Awards Tra h Walsh of Etravel, Iris

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