Five questions you should ask yourself before you travel in 2020

Technology may well indeed be shrinking the world around us and connecting us in myriad ways through innovations such as Skype, WhatsApp and Instagram but it’s also surprisingly large when you start to consider where you want to travel to next and there are many things to consider; not least of which is cost. Leaving cost aside though for one moment, let’s consider all the other factors that determine where we travel to? (more…)

The Power of Propaganda

If you Google the meaning of the word ‘Propaganda’, you’ll get the following definition ‘information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view’. We normally associate propaganda with totalitarian or rogue states but it is a political tool and strategy that is used on all sides and even the ‘good guys’ are not averse to the use of ‘misinformation’ if it achieves the necessary results. (more…)

Mass Tourism — is it a good or a bad thing?

I had the opportunity to visit the beautiful town of Kotor in Montenegro a few weeks ago. I had first visited the stunning medieval town nine years ago and was captivated by its stunning location at the end of a deep inlet and the well-preserved condition of much of its buildings. Indeed, it was so perfect that it almost looked fake — like a recently constructed film set. On both occasions, I visited the town

Washington, DC — Brain City USA!

Washington, DC is synonymous with many things, but higher learning is probably not one of them. Being the centre of government and federal administration for the most powerful country on the face of the planet, you would expect it to be populated with a lot of smart people — whether they be politicians, lobbyists or senior civil servants but the statistic that took me aback, I have to say is the revelation that Washington, DC,

The world is beating a path to Bangkok

You’ve probably heard of the phrase, ‘Lies, damned lies, and statistics’. No one is quite sure who the originator of those words was, but it is often attributed to Benjamin Disraeli, who was British Prime Minister between 1874 and 1880. The famous phrase which is often used to discredit the persuasive power of numbers to add disproportionate credibility to otherwise weak arguments is sometimes also attributed to Samuel Langhorne Clemens — more popularly known to

Jamaica — Ireland’s Caribbean next-of-kin

It is just over 30 years since I first visited Jamaica and fell in love with the island, its people and its music. I’ve only been back there once since then and am due to visit the Caribbean nation for a third time next year and I’m already looking forward to it. The thing that struck me most forcibly about Jamaica and Jamaicans on that first visit was how much they were like us in

Welcome to Veggie Heaven!

People travel around the world to specific destinations for all sorts of reasons. It may be to experience the natural wonders of a country; its history, architecture, culture or even its people. Some people travel specifically to enjoy the food — whether it be Indian, Mexican, Chinese, French or any one of dozens of other national cuisines. (more…)
travel-makes-you-richer

‘Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer’

Travel is one of those activities that has never been short of an inspirational quote or two and the title of this week’s blog is probably one of the better ones and certainly one of my favourites. Like a lot of people who work in the travel industry, I have been blessed over the course of the past 44 years to have traveled to a lot of exotic destinations around the world — some of

Something to shout about!

It’s not often that I take the opportunity in this blog to talk about something closer to home — after all, the purpose of these articles is to whet your appetite and stimulate your curiosity so that you venture abroad and experience some of the destinations that I write about. Every now and then though, I come across something that is so good that I simply cannot let the opportunity pass without telling people about

All roads don’t lead south

We have a habit in Ireland of only looking south or east when we consider holiday destinations. It’s partly because we associate such destinations in Mediterranean Europe with guaranteed sunshine. It’s also partly due to conditioning and assumptions — false assumptions as it turns out. We assume that it is only southern European destinations such as Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and, to a lesser extent France, that hold the monopoly on good weather and whilst

Discovery begins at home

I work in the travel industry, so part of my job description is to persuade people to leave Ireland and enjoy many of the delights that the world has to offer. I’ve been doing this in various manifestations (travel agent, tour operator, GSA, consortium founder etc.) for almost 45 years and I love my job! So forgive me this week if I break with tradition and talk a little bit about what can be found

Dubrovnik – the real King’s Landing

  The former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Tip O’Neill famously opined some years ago that ‘All politics is local’ and how right he was! You could equally argue that when it comes to the relative popularity of new air services, you should never underestimate the allure of ‘local’. The ‘local’ in this instance that I am referring to is the new direct service between Cork and Dubrovnik that will start later

The art of getting a quote that is both competitive in price and relevant to your needs starts with gathering all the right information about what you want to do (or think you want to do!).