005-011 News 24/4/12 17:38 Page 2 NEWS NEWS Turning towns tidy Dublin Hilton boss scoops manager award Erwin Verhoog, General Manager of Hilton Building on the Tidy Towns seal of approval, Fáilte Ireland has this year invited the Dublin Hotel has raised the bar for hotel top 100 Tidy Towns from 2011 to apply for the very first Tourism Towns Award - a management standards in the UK & Ireland, new scheme developed to recognise and reward excellence in tourism having been announced as Hotel Manager of development and support Irish towns to enhance the visitor’s experience of their the Year.The awards are hosted annually by local area. Hilton Worldwide for all UK & Ireland hotels within the group, of which there are over 100. Ship of dreams Tourism Ireland comment on winter tourism figures Commenting on the CSO figures issued for overseas visitor numbers to Ireland for the three-month period December 2011 to February 2012, Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said:”Despite the global economic landscape of recent months, which continues to present a challenging environment for travel, I am pleased to see growth of almost +3% for the three-month period December 2011 to February 2012. It is a positive start to Model Nicola Haughey at the launch of Tourism Ireland’s live blogging event, which 2012. Particularly welcome is the growth of took place from inside the new Titanic Belfast building. The event allowed hundreds +6.6% in visitor numbers from Great Britain, of thousands of potential British and European visitors to experience the new our largest and most important market which attraction online before members of the public stepped through the doors. delivers about 45% of all our overseas visitors.” H&RT APRIL/MAY ‘12 5 005-011 News 24/4/12 17:38 Page 3 NEWS Galway Lording it up restaurant wins Bia award Lord Henry Mountcharles (third from right) and his son Alex (third from left) welcomes Australian travel writers and Donna Campbell, Tourism Ireland Australia (left), to Slane Castle. Keeping the home fires burning Ard Bia, Galway has been awarded Bord Bia’s Just Ask! Restaurant of the Month for April. Located in a stone built medieval customs house overlooking the Claddagh Basin, Ard Bia comprises of a Café, Restaurant and Wine Bar. Owned by Aoibheann MacNamara has been awarded Just ask winner for April because of their dedication to scouring ingredients locally. Heineken Fáilte Ireland has been asked by Minister Varadkar to carry out a scoping study into the establishment of a Diaspora Centre in Ireland. As a first step in this process, a small group, chaired by Broadcaster John Bowman, has been set up to guide the launches new study. “It is believed that a Diaspora of approximately 71m Irish people exists across the globe and finding an appropriate way to connect with these people would clearly bring significant benefits for Irish tourism,” said Aidan Pender, website Director of Strategic Development, Fáilte Ireland. Heineken Ireland is set to launch a brand new dedicated on-trade website, Heineken TradeZone. Customers can now access Guinness World Record relevant company, brand, activation, and event information across the Heineken Ireland portfolio. Heineken’s customers will have Success for Bunzl exclusive access to the Grow Your Business section, where Heineken will share on-trade The world’s largest water specific tips, from how to use digital marketing mosaic, as confirmed by and social media effectively, to managing your Guinness World Records, was portfolio of brands in outlet. recently created at the annual Heineken TradeZone will open its virtual conference of Bunzl Catering & doors to Heineken Ireland customers in mid- Hospitality Division at the O2 April to coincide with the introduction of the Arena in London. Over 300 complimentary Heineken Star Saturday employees and suppliers visibility kit. worked together, taking three Heineken Star Saturday is a unique and hours to fill 81,000 white plastic special occasion where both the Heineken Cup cups with 17,000 litres of and UEFA Champions League finals will take different coloured water. The place on the same day - 19th May 2012. theme of the 2012 conference, For further information, contact your local introduced by Matt Johnson, Managing Director, Bunzl Catering & Hospitality Heineken sales team. Division was: “Citius - Altius - Fortius” (Faster - Higher - Stronger), an Olympic www.heinekentradezone.ie motto first used in the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris. 6 H&RT APRIL/MAY ‘12 005-011 News 24/4/12 17:38 Page 4 NEWS Fruit of the summer Cobh’s Titanic connections Keelings, the 100% Irish family owned company and experts in fresh produce, presents the first Irish strawberry of 2012 which was grown on its own farms, to Irish Rugby team member Tommy Bowe. Rachel Allen kicks off family Journalists enjoyed the Titanic Trail Tour in friendly season Cobh with guide Michael Martin (fifth from left). Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “Tourism Ireland is delighted to bring this group of journalists to Cobh and to Co Cork. As the last port-of-call for Titanic, the 100-year anniversary is an excellent opportunity for us to highlight Cobh to a wide audience of potential holidaymakers worldwide.” LEC Commercial Catering Refrigeration goes platinum! One of Ireland’s favourite celebrity chefs, Rachel Allen, has officially launched Fáilte Ireland’s Cool for Kids Fun for Family guide for Youghal, East Cork, and West Waterford at Perks Entertainment Centre, Youghal. The event was attended by a number of tourism operators from the designated family friendly zones that have joined the Fáilte Ireland project in order to make the area famous for family holidays. French Connection for Ireland Minister for Finance Michael Noonan T.D. (fourth from right) met with tourism partners from around Ireland at MAP in Paris. MAP is a major travel show that attracts over 100,000 visitors each year - including influential tour operators, travel agents and travel Lec, the commercial refrigeration specialist, writers, as well as many has re-launched its specialist catering thousands of potential refrigeration range with an 18-model line-up of French holidaymakers under counter and freestanding refrigerators looking for ideas and and freezers for use in commercial premises. suggestions for their Designed and named to commemorate 70 next short break or years of Lec refrigeration, the new Platinum holiday destination. range offers a wider choice of energy efficient, The four-day event environmentally friendly models that offer low provided a valuable running costs at an affordable price and from a opportunity for the trusted brand name. participating Irish For further information on the Lec range tourism companies to of refrigeration equipment visit showcase their tourism www.lec-commercial.co.uk or contact product. (UK) 0044 844 248 4274. H&RT APRIL/MAY ‘12 7 005-011 News 24/4/12 17:38 Page 5 NEWS The first resort French connection Pictured on the Tourism Ireland stand at Meedex, the meetings and events fair which took place last week at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, France, are Donna Brogan, Dublin Convention Bureau; Catherine Bertin, Tourism Ireland; Eva Schmid, Killarney Hotels; Armando Borgatta, A Touch of Ireland; Áine Comerford, Citywest Hotel, Dublin; and Christophe de Patoul, Irish Horizons (destination management company). Louise Waters, Spa Manager at Delphi Spa, Blooming success in Philadelphia Delphi Mountain Resort, accepting the Susan Cloyd, CIE Tours International; Jean Residential Spa of the Year Award from Gerard McCluskey, Tourism Ireland; Paul Mockler, McCarthy, Dalesauna at the 2012 Professional Shannon Development; Trevor Edwards, the Beauty Awards. Plantsman’s Garden Tours; Zoe Bratton, Causeway Coast and Glens; Úna Galligan and Hillarie McGuinness, both Tourism Ireland; Writers Guild dish Ellen McNulty, Lynott Tours; and Marie Booth, B&B Ireland, on the Tourism Ireland stand at the up food awards 2012 Philadelphia International Flower Show. Ireland ‘Goes Dutch’ at Tourism Workshop in Amsterdam Pictured (l-r) at Tourism Ireland’s recent “Ireland workshop” in Amsterdam: Finola O’Mahony and Karen van der Horst, both from Tourism Ireland; Ambassador Mary Whelan; Helena Healy, B&B Ireland; and Jolande Lambers, OAD Reizen. Pictured are the Irish Food Writers’ Guild Food Awards winners: Masterchef Ireland Winner Mary Carney (centre) with Patrick Rooney Derrycamma Farm Rapeseed Oil, Brendan and Strand Hotel ties the knot Derek Allen Castlemine Farm Free Range Pork, The Limerick Strand has won a ‘Best overall Wedding Venue’ Award at 2012’s Real Jack McCarthy, McCarthy’s of Kanturk; Carol Wedding Oscars, beating off stiff competition from other top Irish hotel venues. Rooney, Derrycamma Farm Rapeseed Oil, Con They added this accolade to their growing list of awards. The Limerick Strand Hotel Traas, The Apple Farm, and David Tiernan, has just launched Ireland’s first ‘Wedding Skype Service’ to facilitate the current Glebe Brethan Cheese. levels of wedding enquiries and bookings coming from Australia in particular. Castle Hotel scoops Ringing in the changes second TripAdvisor award Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring has announced details of a new The 4 * Castle Hotel in Macroom, Co. Cork beat overseas joint tourism marketing campaign from a range of funding sources to off stiff competition and was voted best family boost tourism to the Western Region from Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy. hotel by Trip Advisor in its annual Travellers’ Funding of €1 million has been allocated through Fáilte Ireland, five local Family Hotel Choice Awards. authorities (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo and Roscommon), Tourism Ireland, the The Castle Hotel was ranked within the top Western Development Commission and Ireland West Airport Knock, towards the 25 hotels in Ireland in the “family” hotel award Western Region Tourism Marketing Programme. category by TripAdvisor - in January it was Fáilte Ireland is providing €600,000 of the €1 million total.