It’s
official! Donegal is now the ‘Media’s Favourite Place in Ireland’ and we even
have the certificate to prove it.
Michael
Collins, founder and Managing Director of TravelMedia.ie presented this
prestigious award to Donegal County Council Chief Executive Seamus Neely and
Cathaoirleach Cllr. Gerry McMonagle at the recent Donegal Tourism Seminar in
Harvey’s Point Hotel.
“This
is an excellent achievement for Donegal and a wonderful addition to our other
recent accolades including being named ‘Coolest Place on the Planet 2017’ by
National Geographic Traveller and ‘Ireland’s Hidden Gem’ by Independent Travel
readers” says Cathaoirleach Cllr. McMonagle.
 |
| Michael Collins, TravelMedia.ie presenting Seamus Neely Chief Executive, Donegal County Council and Cllr. Gerry McMonagle Cathaoirleach with the prestigious Travel Media award where Donegal was named at the ‘Media’s Favourite Place in Ireland’ at the Connecting the Coolest Place’ Donegal Tourism Seminar on Thursday (26 October 2017) in Harvey’s Point Hotel. |
Donegal
received this prestigious award at the Travel Media Awards ceremony in Dublin
last June but it was only at yesterday’s conference that the award was
officially presented. These Travel Media awards have grown to
become one of the highlights of the annual travel industry calendar and calls
on the media to vote and give their say on who they think stands out from the
travel industry crowd – past winners include Aer Lingus, MSC Cruises and
Crystal Ski Holidays. To be voted as the ‘Media’s Favourite Place in Ireland’
is testament to the increasing popularity of Donegal as the perfect holiday
destination on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Michael
Collins said “This was the first time we introduced this category. Instead of
always asking the media about their favourite international places we thought,
let’s bring it back home and ask them about Ireland. It was really interesting
to see Donegal win, with the capital Dublin coming second.”
Speaking
on Thursday, Seamus Neely said he was thrilled that Donegal has been recognised by
the travel media sector and said that “we have been building positive
relationships with the travel media in recent years through our work with
Donegal Tourism and the Donegal County Council Communications Office in
promoting the govisitdonegal.com platform and our Donegal brand. This award is
a welcome sign that our communications and PR activities are reaching the right
audience and our recognition as ‘Media’s Favourite Place in Ireland’ is very
much appreciated”.
 |
| Participants attending the Donegal Tourism Seminar |
Over
200 attendees participated in the Donegal Tourism Seminar which was
hosted in the stunning setting of Harvey’s Point Hotel on the beautiful Lough
Eske. This seminar focused on how best to connect what is now the
‘Coolest Place’ and heard from a line up of tourism and travel experts who
shared their expertise on emerging travel trends, tourism strategies and
marketing techniques.
This
included Mathew Jackson Managing Director and Publisher of National GeographicTraveller (UK) who is credited with naming Donegal as the Coolest Place on the
Planet in 2017. Matthew visited Donegal for the first time earlier this
year and became an instant fan.
Speaking
at the seminar he explained why Donegal received this accolade saying “Donegal
is off the mainstream radar and not easy to access but on the cusp of a
breakthrough. On the one hand you have the big pushes like the Wild
Atlantic Way and the recent filming of Star Wars; on the other hand you only
have to drive a few miles to have a beach or a road completely to yourself.
It’s a warm hearted place, fantastic food and hospitality but wilderness always
feels just a stone’s throw away. And it is a world class
wilderness. So we thought it deserved a big year!”.
 |
| Speakers at the Connecting the Coolest Place’ Donegal Tourism Seminar on Thursday (26 October 2017) in Harvey’s Point Hotel from l to r: Seamus Neely, Donegal County Council, Carolynne Harrison, The Shandon Hotel, Matthew Jackson, National Geographic Traveller UK, Joan Crawford, Failte Ireland, Cllr. Gerry McMonagle, Cathaoirleach, Greg Fry, Michael Collins, TravelMedia.ie and Liam Ward, Donegal County Council. |
The
seminar also heard from inspiration speakers including Carolynne Harrison,
General Manager of the Shandon Hotel & Spa who wowed the audience with her
remarkable story of how she tackled the ‘weaker months’ by being creative and driving
up occupancy in the winter and maintaining the jobs of over 120 staff and
managing costs to ensure profit margins were on target.
Social
media and digital experts Greg Fry, Co-Founder of Content Plan and Michael Collins enthused the audience
with their practical tips and techniques of making social media and digital
marketing work for tourism businesses in Donegal. They believe that
content remains king and having clear business goals and a clearly defined
strategy producing measurable results is essential for success.
Wild
Atlantic Way Client Services Manager for Fáilte Ireland Joan Crawford presented
a profile of the Wild Atlantic Way visitor and why they are coming to the west
coast of Ireland. Market research shows that these visitors have no
itinerary and they are ‘going where time took us’ drawing on their spontaneous
side and looking forward to finding the hidden gems off the beaten track.
This provides a great opportunity for places such as Donegal which for many is
still a place of discovery.
The
seminar concluded with a strong message from each of the panellists which
highlighted the need to continue to collaborate and network. It is the
Donegal experience that visitors want when they come to Donegal and there is a
clear willingness among those in the Donegal tourism sector to work together to
ensure that Donegal becomes the number one tourism destination in the country.
