Tourism providers invited to reconnect at Recovery and Sustainability seminar
Travel editor with the Irish Independent, Pól O’Conghaile, Roisin Finlay of Sustainable Travel Ireland and Sinéad McDermott of Leitrim Tourism and Slow Adventure Ireland will be among the guest speakers at ‘Meet Mayo North’, Mayo North Tourism’s annual networking event on Tuesday, March 29 in Great National Hotel Ballina.
The themes of the day will be recovery and sustainability, and anyone with an interest in tourism in the area is welcome to attend for what is set to be an interesting and informative day.
Pól Ó Conghaile is one of Ireland’s best known travel experts. Over 25 years reporting on travel and tourism, he has won multiple awards, been named Ireland's Travel Journalist of the Year several times, and contributed to National Geographic Traveller, the BBC and RTE's Tracks & Trails, among other outlets. Pól will share some insights on current travel trends that will be of use to anyone working in the sector.
Roisin Finlay from Sustainable Travel Ireland will offer advice on how the travel industry can transition to a sustainable future. Sustainable Travel Ireland is Ireland’s leading and longest-running body for the promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism. It has been training and certifying businesses since 2009. Their internationally recognised certification standard is the only set of criteria used in Ireland that is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.
Leitrim Tourism has in recent years embarked upon a sustained tourism promotional campaign, and County Leitrim is now known as the home of slow adventure in Ireland. Sinéad McDermott will share the story of how the destination has worked to create a number of Slow Adventure experiences, bringing together people who enjoy sharing their sense of place with visitors by sharing traditional skills, local knowledge, storytelling and spending time together in nature.
Speaking about the networking event, Manager of Mayo North Tourism, Anne-Marie Flynn said, "After such a turbulent time for the tourism industry, we want to support the sector as much as we can. This event will give people the opportunity to reconnect and network with each other, which then helps them to cross-promote each other within the destination. The theme of the event is recovery and sustainability in tourism, both of which are very topical areas, so it was important for us to have a high calibre and knowledgeable line-up of guest speakers so that attendees can leave with some solid, actionable takeaways."
Midwest Radio will also conduct an outside broadcast from the venue that morning, and the afternoon session will include local updates from Mayo North Tourism, Fáilte Ireland, Mayo County Council Tourism Department, Ballina 2023 and Ballina – Ireland’s Greenest Town.
Attendance at the Meet Mayo North event on March 29 is free and open to anyone with an interest in tourism. Tickets can be booked online by searching for ‘Meet Mayo North’ at www.eventbrite.ie, by emailing [email protected] or calling the Mayo North Tourism office at (096 ) 80090.
