by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua I felt sorry for our hosts. Two years working on an event to bring some of the most powerful Professional Conference Organisers in the world to your city and there’s a deluge that wouldn’t look out of place in the recent Hollywood blockbuster, Noah. What’s generally an idyllic alpine… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua For 50 years Avis, the car rental company, used “We try harder” as its tagline. It was a piece of brilliant disruptive marketing, fashioned under the leadership of CEO Robert Townsend, aimed at taking down Hertz, the dominant market player at the time. Instead of bland, vacuous hyperbole laying… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Collective Confusion Ireland’s historical relationship with food has tended to be problematical. Our DNA has tended to be encoded with vague, indistinct memories of famine and fasting leaving us collectively confused about the purpose and meaning of food in our lives. We were less unsure, mind you, about our… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua The Challenge I gave Lyndsi Armenio of Destination DC half a day to prove for the purposes of this blog that Washington DC kicked ass as a conventions and incentives destination. “Show me a great hotel, an unusual location for a welcome function, a wow venue for a Gala,… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua That I couldn’t locate a pub in downtown Malaga showing either Arsenal v Everton or Ireland v Italy was intensely frustrating. The first match was a quarter final cup clash against strong opposition and Arsenal were to score 4 glorious goals to progress to the FA cup semi-final. Ireland… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Destination MICE Despite changing demographics and new generational preferences the filter for destination selection still pivots around crucial infrastructural categories like hotel, formal and informal venues and unique destination experiences. I recently re-visited Belfast and was hugely impressed by how far it has come as a MICE destination in… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua An unusual trip This was an unusual trip. 2 nights R&R at an iconic hotel in Knightsbridge, the delectable delights of London available on your doorstep, followed by a night with your daughter in remote suburbia, several tube stops, a commuter train and a car journey from the excitement. In… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Off-Beat and Off-the-Beaten Path When the Travel Bloggers [TBEX] conference took place in Dublin a few years ago there were quibbles that these intrepid investigators didn’t really showcase anything new or different about the city. Their coverage tended to focus on what’s already known and loved – Trinity, Guinness,… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua “And you shall know them by their airports …” Airports are usually your first point of physical contact with a destination but Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) frequently miss a golden opportunity to turn these crucial first impressions into memorable destination experiences. Nashville is an exception in this regard. No… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC TBEX, Dublin Technology, the internet and digital platforms have systematically altered the business tourism landscape as dramatically as the recent emergence of luxury destinations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi in locations where 30 years ago there were only sand dunes. These radical changes were brought home to… Read more »