Smart thinking in tourism outlined at AIT

Athlone Institute of Technology hosted a major conference on tourism and hospitality last week. The seventh annual Tourism, Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference was attended by almost 100 delegates representing the tourism and hospitality industry, service providers to the industry, policy makers, academics and students. Conference delegates were afforded a civic reception by Athlone Town Council. The official opening of the conference was conducted by Head of the Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Studies, John O'Hara, along with Mayor Cllr Sheila Buckley Byrne and Professor Ciarán " Catháin, President of Athlone IT. The theme of the Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland Conference was 'Smart Thinking In Tourism' One of the two keynote speakers, Dr Melanie Smith, a lecturer and researchers at Corvinus University in Budapest, outlined a number of key factors behind trends in the worldwide tourism industry. She referred to the concept of sustainability in tourism and said modern research indicated that people were taking more trips but those trips were now of a shorter duration and to destinations closer to home. She also outlined how more and more consumers were seeking creative experiences and outlined how many tourists were now seeking 'edutainment' - a mixture of entertainment and education, on their vacations. The other speaker Cork native Barry Chandler, the founder of Interactive Hospitality, an online marketing agency for bars, restaurants and hotels, provided a lively presentation on how businesses can use social media channels to keep a loyal community of customers. A roundtable discussion, chaired by Westmeath Independent editor, Tadhg Carey, heard Chairman of Ireland West Airport Liam Scollan reject suggestions that the Government was favouring airports such as Knock and Shannon over regional airports including Galway. Also part of the discussion were Tracey Coughlan, Sector Liaison and Planning Manager of Failte Ireland, Professor of Tourism Policy at the University of Limerick Jim Deegan and CEO of The Greenbox, Mary Mulvey, an eco-tourism destination in north west Ireland along with the two keynote speakers, Smith and Chandler. The discussion also touched on the issue of proposals to cut the wages of workers in the hospitality sector who were covered by the Joint Labour Committees and on the future roles of State tourism agencies in the era of social media.