News

New Roller Coaster for Tayto Park

Tayto Park, has secured planning permission for an “iconic” €14m roller-coaster ride.

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The ride, called ‘Coaster 2021’ in planning documents, will help projected visits to Tayto Park increase 15%, from 630,000 in 2019 to 725,000 in 2023.

Tayto Park is aiming to build the attraction next year and open it in 2021.

Meath County Council has given the green light to the project, attaching 26 conditions. ‘Coaster 2021’ will be 32m high, like the park’s 1,082m-long Cú Chulainn ride, but will be 400m longer.

'Human Touch' Holidays Trending

Multi-generational holidays, immersive experiences and the “human touch” are key trends driving the travel and tourism sector this year, according to industry leaders who

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gathered in Dublin this weekend to discuss the challenges and opportunities they face.

Pictured are Pól Ó Conghaile, Travel Editor with the Irish Independent; Neven Maguire of MacNean House & Restaurant; and Cliona Carroll, Sponsorship and Events Manager with INM.

Winners and sponsors met at Dublin’s Cliff Townhouse to celebrate the winners of the 2019 Irish Independent Reader Travel Awards, and to look ahead to 2020.

Commenting at the event, Pól Ó Conghaile, Travel Editor with the Irish Independent, said: “Our readers have identified clear trends for travel and tourism in 2019. Firstly, we’re seeing increased demand for multi-generational holidays, where children, parents and grandparents can enjoy time together.

Wooing NI Golfers

Fáilte Ireland was in Belfast to showcase the best of Irish courses to golfers from Northern Ireland in a bid to grow visitor numbers from the North.

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Northern Ireland, has been identified by Fáilte Ireland as a priority target as it helps prepare businesses for the impact of Brexit.

As part of this work, the National Tourism Development Authority held its annual ‘Golf Ireland’ event with over 40 exhibitors from the finest golf courses throughout Ireland. More than 420 Northern Ireland golfing enthuasists attended on the night.

The promotional event showcased the exceptional quality and value that Irish golf provides and over 400 golf enthusiasts, including members of local golf societies and clubs attended.

Failte Ireland bags €28m conferences

Fáilte Ireland has announced that January has been a record month for attracting international business conferences and events to Ireland. Fifty-seven conferences worth at

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least €28million to the economy have been secured for future years by Fáilte Ireland’s business tourism team.

The conferences will take place at venues across the country, and will attract over 19,000 international delegates.

Business Tourism is currently worth at least €760million to the Irish economy and supports 22,000 jobs. Fáilte Ireland is working on growing the sector during the next six years to bring the value of business tourism to the Irish economy over the €1billion mark.

Galway 'Experts' Wanted

Fáilte Ireland is launching an initiative encouraging Galwegian’s who welcome and engage with tourists to become part of their Local Experts Programme. TheKnow Galway Local Experts Programme aims to ensure that visitors to the city and county enjoy a positive and memorable tourism experience when visiting and as part of the programme, two workshops are planned in Galway on Tuesday, 19th February next at the Galmont Hotel. The workshops are designed to be fun, informative and interactive and attendee

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s will learn about the power of tourism locally and how to offer visitors relevant recommendations on places of interest to visit in Galway.

The Local Experts Programme aims to develop a network of local people who share local knowledge, inspire ‘front line’ personnel to make every visitor engagement a truly positive one and to ultimately grow tourism businesses and the local economy.