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 Mythologising our memories For over two decades meetings and events professionals congregated in Chicago in late September / early October to attend the IT&ME show. It remained IT&ME for many of us long after it was renamed The Motivation Show but our memories of the show, and… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Looking after No 1 Mercer Consulting, the consulting firm, conducts an annual survey which ranks cities according to a range of criteria. Vienna is in top position. Simon Anholt also publishes an in-depth annual survey tracking the image and reputation of cities and Vienna constantly ranks in… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC The debate about the future of Destination Management Companies has crossed the Atlantic and has generated good commentary on the pages at MeetPie, the excellent on-line platform of CAT Publications, publishers of Meetings and Incentive Travel magazine amongst others. In his comment there my good friend David… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s The Museum of Innocence is a long and sometimes tedious story of love gone wrong, told in the first person by an intensely annoying, socially privileged narrator whom, most of the time, you want to slap. It’s also a deeply engaging account of… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Padraic is disappointed I’ve posted twice recently on technology and the DMC sector and while there has been some reaction and commentary I admit to being somewhat disappointed by the overall response. Maybe it’s silly season ennui or vacation time detachment but other than some Retweets, Tahira’s… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC 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 an azure sky… Read more »
by Padraic Giligan, Vice President Industry Relations, MCI Astoria 100 – A Grand and Lavish Affair I have a lot to say about St Petersburg but I’ll start with the party because, after all, that’s the reason I went there. The Hotel Astoria is celebrating 100 years of hospitality in 2012 /2103. I anticipated something… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Managing Partner, SoolNua Head in the Air Once you run the gauntlet of checking in, depositing bags, negotiating security and finally boarding, the time on board an aircraft can be good head time if only for the fact that you’re your own captive audience and are usually free from the random interruptions… Read more »
by Padraic Gilligan, Vice President, Ovation Global DMC Naples and Ireland have many things in common none more so than the cast-iron connection, in both locations, between people and place. Ireland, as a destination, is largely defined in and through its people. So is Naples. This is mainly a good thing as it roots the… Read more »