Posts Categorized: Destinations

Pádraic Gilligan reflects on his visit to St. John’s, Canada’s easternmost provincial capital, where he attended the Incentive Summit Americas (ISA). Contrary to its “Stay Strange” motif, St. John’s is a warm, unpretentious city with unique, locally-owned shops and a vibrant community. The ISA event, hosted at the Alt Hotel, featured exceptional local activities such as hikes, heli-rides, and a memorable keynote by Justin Wren. The city’s genuine hospitality, slower pace, and unique traditions, such as the screech-in ceremony, left attendees with lasting memories. The summit successfully showcased St. John’s unconventional appeal and charm.

by Pádraic Gilligan, Founder SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Gleneagles – an incentive travel classic As July unfolds in Ireland and the weather gods continue to think it’s March, I’m left wondering whether it’s still raining in Gleneagles, that “glorious playground” that my son Colm and I visited earlier this year? Despite my decades… Read more »

by Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, SITE & Founder, SoolNua Marketing Sydney, a true destination Sydney is not a first-tier global hub like London, Dubai or Singapore. There’s simply not enough international traffic going in and out of the city. It’s an offline city, too physically far from London, Paris, or New York to have… Read more »

by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Returning to Abu Dhabi Returning to Abu Dhabi, I had the opportunity to visit the remarkable Abrahamic Family House, a testament to the city’s visionary development since my first visit in the early 2000s. Back then, the grand Sheikh Zayed Mosque was the primary… Read more »

Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, SITE & Managing Partner, SoolNua 05:50 Andermatt to Göschenen It was graveyard still, and pitch dark. Amy, Marina and I left the Radisson Blu and made the short journey on foot to the train station at Andermatt. Despite the altitude and the season, there was no early morning chill, validating… Read more »

by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Marketing Ultra-lux travellers, high net worth individuals and incentive travel qualifiers now define luxury as authenticity and seek out travel experiences that evoke emotions, stir up stories and trigger personal transformation. Naviva in Punta Mita, Mexico is a brand new concept from Four Seasons that’s already delivering on all… Read more »

by Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, SITE & Managing Partner, SoolNua Marketing SITE Classic at Boca Raton – discover 1 The Boca Raton Museum of Art is a cultural treasure of human proportions, not at all intimidating, or full of its own self-importance, the way some galleries can be. It’s located in downtown Boca Raton,… Read more »

by Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, SITE & Managing Partner, SoolNua Marketing Cashel – now a destination I have vivid memories of Cashel as a stop en route to Cork or Blarney when I worked in the late 80s as an Italian speaking tour guide. As an experienced guide I knew exactly at what point… Read more »

Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, SITE & Managing Partner, SoolNua Golden Moments in Nova Scotia Great travel experiences have golden moments during which something triggers a change of consciousness, and, almost without prior warning, you’re transported to another realm, beyond the physical limitations of time and space that tether us to the here and now…. Read more »

by Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, SITE & Managing Partner, SoolNua Marketing Jamaican Storytellers For an island nation of only three million souls, Jamaica has insinuated itself on the world’s stage and into the minds and hearts of multitudinous millions thanks, mainly, to brilliant storytelling, particularly stories that follow the archetypal trope of the underdog…. Read more »