INSIDER
TRAVEL CONFIDENTIAL
Joe Byrne
Tourism Ireland
The Gathering, a 2013 celebration of
Irish heritage and culture, was born out
of an idea of how to help Ireland’s ailing economy, but it eventually took on a
life on its own, as people across Ireland
enthusiastically embraced the marketing
initiative. Joe Byrne, executive vice president, U.S. and Canada, of Tourism Ireland, talked with Senior Editor Michelle
Baran about how the idea came to fruition and the yearlong showcase of events
and festivities it has evolved into.
the critical corners of Ireland have been
coming up with ideas, how can they be
part of the Gathering of Ireland.
Q: So how exactly did the idea of the
Gathering emerge?
A: The idea actually came from the
Irish government. When they got into
their financial difficulties, they called
a meeting of “friends of
Ireland,” people who have
had success, the global Irish
network, and they gathered
a few ideas of how Ireland
might accelerate the economic recovery. Some genius said, “Why don’t you
have a gathering?”
Q: How are suppliers responding?
A: One of the big benefits has been
that the airlines that are a critical part
of our infrastructure have responded
very well with additional services and
with additional capacity for Ireland.
Aer Lingus, Ireland’s national carrier, is putting on an additional 15% of
seats next year [from Chicago and Bos-ton]. American Airlines just last week
announced that they were introducing
from next June a brand-new daily service from JFK to Dublin. The week before last, United announced that they
are going to have from May
of next year a brand-new service from Chicago to Shannon in the west of Ireland.
So the Gathering is not just
a series of things happening,
it’s also a business as far as
airlines and the tourism industry is concerned, and the
airlines have responded extremely well. … On the back
of that, we’re going to see some very
exciting airfares in the marketplace.
Joe Byrne
Norwegian’s global sales boss Andy
Stuart reposted the pic, joking, “This is
what happens to Camille if we don’t win
the Travel Weekly sales and service award
this year … Off with her head!”
Q: What is it?
A: It’s many things. I suppose the best
way of defining it, really, is a yearlong
celebration of everything that’s special
and good about Ireland and the Irish.
And another way of looking at it is it’s
an invitation from the people of Ire-
land to friends and family throughout
the world to come home and to cel-
ebrate Irish cul-
ture and fun and
food and music
and sports in
Ireland during
2013.
From friends with
no power, to reports
of unprecedented
flooding to photos
of devastation on
the Jersey Shore, the
reading can get a little
rough.
But then TC read
one status update late last week from
a tourism executive in reference to
New York’s runaway-hit burger
chain that got us smiling (and
hungry):
“Shake Shack in Midtown
is hopping with tourists!”
More from TC’s Facebook
front lines: Things got
pretty scary at Norwegian
Cruise Line’s Halloween party
last week, at least for Senior Vice
President of Sales Camille Olivere.
With her ghoulish head cradled in
her costume’s arms (trust TC; this was
a pretty unique take on the theme), the
bloodied and headless Olivere told her
Facebook friends: “What happens when
Norwegian Cruise Line does not win” at
the Travel Weekly Readers Choice Awards:
“A Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Hoteliers occasionally sugarcoat or ex-
aggerate their star ratings to make their
properties more attractive to prospective
guests searching for a room at the inn.
And since the ratings in nonchain
properties are often at the whim
of the individual hotels, it can
be hard to discern fact from
fiction.
So TC was surprised at
the answer given by a gen-
eral manager at a Mazatlan
hotel obviously in need of
an update, although it was
open and operating, more or
less. When asked what its star
rating was, on a scale from one (don’t
expect much) to five (top-notch service
and accommodations), the answer was
“Zero.”
“We’re working on improvements,” he
said.
On the other side of the coin, Mazatlan has some pretty terrific resorts and
hotels, well-deserving of five stars.
acebook and Twitter have been alive this week
with reports and updates on the damage from
Hurricane Sandy.
o
r
s
h
e
f
t
t
F
Q: What about the capacity on the
ground?
A: There is excellent accommodation
available and genuinely because of
the amount of accommodation available, the value
for visitors has
never been better.
Sampson worked as the assistant director of marketing
at the ANA Hotel in Washington.
There’s not a town or a vil-
lage or a county in Ireland
that isn’t organizing some
kind of Gathering event.’
Q: What has
been the re-
sponse?
A: I’ve been in Irish tourism for more
than 30 years, and in all my time I have
never seen any concept that has gath-
ered as much goodwill and genuine
support as this Gathering has. There’s
not a town or a village or a county in
Ireland that isn’t organizing some kind
of Gathering event or festival, and in
many cases they’re organizing sever-
al of them. It’s what you would call a
citizen-led initiative. All those people in
Q: How much
could this potentially help
the Irish government with its fiscal crisis?
A: Ireland 2013, the year of the Gathering, is actually the start of Ireland’s
economic renewal. Therefore it doesn’t
end when 2013 ends. … The whole concept of Ireland reaching out not just to
Irish-Americans and people who were
born in Ireland who have emigrated
but also to the extraordinary friends
that Ireland has, that whole concept is
going to have a legacy effect.
Friends & Colleagues
Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
named Adrian Norbury director of sales and marketing for the Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel in New York.
John Thompson has been
promoted to vice president
of shared services, a newly
created position, at Choice
Hotels International.
Thompson has been with
Choice Hotels since 1998.
TRAVEL WEEKLY
is published once a week on Mondays by Northstar
Travel Media LLC. 100 Lighting Way, Secaucus, NJ
07094-3681 U.S.A. ISSN #0041-2082. USPS #637
780. Canadian GST #123397457. Canadian Post
Agreement #41021023. Vol. 71, Number 45. Periodi-
cals postage paid at Newark, NJ, and at additional
mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address cor-
rections to Travel Weekly c/o Omeda, P.O. Box 3610,
Northbrook, IL 60065-3610. Publications Mail Agree-
ment No. 40685520. For all circulation inquiries, in-
cluding new subscriptions, renewals, cancellations,
changes of address and missed deliveries, contact
customer service by mail at Travel Weekly, P.O. Box
3610, Northbrook, IL 60065-3610; by phone at (877)
705-8889; fax (847) 291-4816 or e-mail: tw@omeda.
com. For subscriptions, visit https://northstar.om-
eda.com/data/tw/welcome. Annual subscription
rates: USA, US$149; Canada, US$189; elsewhere
US$229. Rates for single copies and special issues
are available. For reprints or copyright permission
contact The YGS Group at (717) 505-9701 X100 or
NorthstarReprints@the YGSgroup.com. Materials in
this publication may not be reproduced in any form
without permission. Travel Weekly® is a registered
trademark. Printed in the U.S.A. — IPM218464
Jennifer Sampson was
named vice president of
product management for
Pegasus Financial Services.
A 13-year veteran of Pegasus Solutions, Sampson assumes responsibility for the
division, which facilitates
roughly $38 million in commissions paid each month
by more than 35,000 hotels
in nearly 200 countries.
Before joining Pegasus,
Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Group has appointed two
new general managers: Cliff
Atkinson at its Mandarin
Oriental, Las Vegas property
and Adriaan Radder at the
Mandarin Oriental, Wash-
ington, D.C.
SUBMIT YOUR STORIES AND PHOTOS: Gerry Bourbeau, Travel
Weekly deputy managing editor, at gbourbeau@travelweekly.com. (
(
