Newsflash

Ireland at Dubai Summit

Fifteen tourism companies from Ireland joined Tourism Ireland at the inaugural Discover Europe Travel Summit in Dubai.

Discover Europe Travel Summit was a two-day B2B tourism event organised by Tourism Ireland in conjunction with the German National Tourist Board, Switzerland Tourism and the Austrian National Tourist Office. The event brought together a delegation of 97 exhibitors from Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and Austria to meet, and do business with, more than 100 travel buyers from the GCC.

Aisling McDermott, Tourism Ireland’s Manager Asia and Middle East, said:

Hospitality Welcomes 9% VAT Extension

Hotels, guesthouses and restaurants across the country have welcomed the announcement from Government that it is to extend the 9% VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality industry to the end of February 2023. This measure will go a long way to helping the industry recovery.

Given the challenges ahead, the Irish Hotels Federation is calling on the Government to further extend this measure out to 2025 in order to maintain international competitiveness with other European destinations.

IHF President Denyse Campbell said that the 9% VAT rate is the right rate to support recovery in Irish tourism and hospitality and enable the sector to rebuild following an exceptionally challenging two years – particularly in light of spiralling business costs.

Arizona Calling

Four tourism companies from Ireland travelled to Arizona to join Tourism Ireland at the annual Global Travel Marketplace West (GTM West).

Pictured are John Callely, Pearse Lyons Distillery; Barbara Wood, Tourism Ireland; Ruth Vaughan, The Savoy Hotel Limerick; Eoin McGrath, Hastings Hotels; Caitriona O'Mahoney, The Fota Collection; and Paul McDonagh, Tourism Ireland, at GTM West in Arizona.

GTM West is a three-day event involving a programme of bespoke one-to-one appointments, "boardroom" style sessions and networking opportunities. It offers an excellent opportunity for the tourism enterprises from Ireland to meet, and do business with, top-producing travel advisors from North America – ensuring Ireland is "top of mind" for them when recommending destinations to their clients.

MasterChef Finals from Ballymaloe

Images of Ballymaloe Cookery School were beamed into the homes of around 7.5 million people across Britain when the season finale of MasterChef – taking place over three episodes this week – began airing on BBC One.

Filming for the special Ireland cooking challenge took place last year and was supported by Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland.

Viewers saw the final four contestants travel to Cork, together with judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace, where they met with Darina Allen and Rory O'Connell of Ballymaloe Cookery School for a whirlwind education in local Irish produce and the ethos of "farm-to-table". The finalists were challenged to prepare a celebratory dinner for some of Ireland’s finest food producers, food historians and relatives of the late, great patron of Irish cuisine, Myrtle Allen.

Golf Media Play East Courses

Fáilte Ireland is hosting a group of international golfing media from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, France and Italy with a combined reach of one million ahead of the Horizon Irish Open, which takes place at Mount Juliet Golf Club from 30th June to 3rd July 2022.

Organised by Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland, the journalists are in Ireland to play some of Ireland’s top golf courses in Ireland’s Ancient East. The group played at The European Club, Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow; the Rosslare golf links in County Wexford; and Mount Juliet golf course in County Kilkenny.

Explaining the importance of such media trips, Emma Woods, Head of Marketing Communications with Fáilte Ireland, said: