by Pádraic Gilligan, Chief Marketing Officer, SITE & Managing Partner, SoolNua How cities grow The great cities of the world – take London, for example – owe much of their global renown to a slow organic growth over decades and centuries. Time makes memories and these become absorbed into the fabric of the evolving city… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE SITE launches with a bang in Bangkok 2019 launched with a bang for the global incentive travel community with 375 of us gathering in Bangkok, Thailand for SITE Global Conference, our first time back to Asia since New Delhi, 2016. We were told we’d… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Rwanda Discovery We followed our guide into the luscious verdant growth, losing sight of the towering volcano above us. We were now officially inside Volcanoes National Park having recently traversed the low stone wall and ditch that demarcates the Gorilla habitat from the local… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Detroit – the original Motor City Car manufacturing made Detroit, Michigan into the “Motor City” and that, in turn, thanks to Berry Gordy Jn., became “Motown”, maybe the most uplifting, life affirming pop music ever to grace the charts and our hearts. Cities, towns,… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Montage Palmetto Bluff – a hidden gem Palmetto Bluff has zero resonance for anyone living outside of the United States. I’d almost venture to say it means little to many people living in the United States too but, as I’m not American, that’s not… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Bali Negotiations It was Sunday evening. The concierge confirmed there was a Catholic mass nearby at 6pm but we declined his offer of a hotel taxi having decided to take a chance with one of the many “freelance” drivers that wait patiently in small… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE I was asked to deliver a workshop recently on “How Malaysia can build & sell compelling incentive travel experiences” and took advantage of my time there to explore some new and, indeed, not so new products relevant to the global meetings, incentives, conferences &… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE I’m in Bali at The Laguna, a Starwood / Luxury Collection property. As you can imagine, it’s pretty spectacular. It’s a 27 year old ocean front resort with 287 guest rooms and villas laid out around a luscious tropical garden dominated by a pool… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Bodrum used to be called Halicarnassus, was the birthplace of Herodotus, the father of History and was home to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. I learned this from classical scholar and teacher, Pádraic O’Sullivan, under… Read more »
by Pádraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua & Chief Marketing Officer, SITE Montenegro – first visit I first visited Montenegro back in 2005 on a day trip from Dubrovnik. We crossed the border from Croatia and slowly meandered around Boka to the fairytale-like, walled citadel of Kotor. At the time, apart from its supreme, serene scenic… Read more »