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Ryanair

Are you buying or shopping?

Is there a difference you ask? Apparently, there is, according to the latest retail research. You would assume, because of the tremendous success of companies such as Amazon and Ryanair that all your typical consumer is interested in is priced and whilst that may to true to a certain degree, the reality is a lot more nuanced than that. (more…)

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

Where to go in 2018?

  It’s that time of year again when everyone starts reading all the travel articles in the various Sunday papers, hoping they’ll be inspired by some report of an idyllic island paradise that has just recently been discovered and which doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Chance would be a fine thing! The reality is that if you want somewhere idyllic that isn’t overrun by hordes of other tourists just like you, then unfortunately,

Why does it take a hurricane for consumers to appreciate the value of service?

Or an erupting volcano? Or an air traffic control strike? Or a computer systems failure (remember the infamous BA glitch earlier this year?) We’re all familiar with the old phrase ‘You get what you pay for’ and never has that cliché been more relevant than over the course of the past few weeks when Ryanair began its ‘drip drip’ release of announcements regarding sweeping flight cancellations across its entire network. The headlines have declared that

Buy cheap, buy twice.

Clichés become clichés because there’s always a large dollop of truth in them. We’ve all heard this one before and we usually associate it with buying cheap clothes that disintegrate after the first or second wash or the piece of gear or tech that was made in China and stops working after relatively little use. But did you know that those words of wisdom can also apply to the purchase of nearly anything — including

Who should pay for whom — The long-running joke that is Irish travel legislation!

The current legislative landscape that regulates both travel agents and tour operators in Ireland was introduced into law in 1982 following the spectacular collapse of Bray Travel the previous year. Bray Travel had been the largest tour operator in the state at that time and the financial fallout from that event which was estimated to be in the region of €1.5M was largely the reason why the subsequent legislation was introduced. Under the new scheme,

What is value and why is it more important than price? — Part 1

Before I answer that question, let me first state that the difference between value and price (a matter I’ll come to in a moment) really depends on the context in which the latter is being experienced. In recent years, more and more products and services have become increasingly commoditised, by which I mean that they have come to be sold more by price point than by any other measurable criterion. (more…)

Why you need a travel agent!

Now that we are in the thick of the annual holiday booking season, perhaps it is a good time to remind intending travelers of the huge benefits to using a licensed and bonded travel agent. Aside from the obvious expertise that travel agents possess, it is the financial peace of mind that they offer that actually represents the best reason for using a travel professional. Because airlines are defined as 'principals', they are not required

Don’t forget the small guys!

We live in such a brand-obsessed world nowadays that it's all too easy to restrict our search when we're online to names that we're familiar but in doing so, we are often inadvertently shortchanging ourselves as the best on offer may not necessarily be the most familiar or famous. This applies to all consumer services and products. It also applies to travel! If you were stopped on the street tomorrow by some pollster and asked

The Travel Agent Renaissance

Has the travellers' love affair with the Internet finally peaked? Has it eventually dawned on consumers that all the best deals aren't necessarily found online? Judging by a growing number of articles that have begun to appear in various mainstream publications both in Ireland and abroad over the course of the past 12 months, the answer would appear to be a resounding yes! And we're not talking about small, regional titles here. August publications such

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!).

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