What We Did This Month – October 2021

We were kept very busy throughout the month of October from creating content and new events to a new podcast episode and lots of travel. Read on to find out everything we got up to this month…

Flu vaccinations & a well-deserved office night out

Our team here at TravelMedia.ie took the opportunity to stay safe and healthy during the upcoming year by visiting the TMB clinic on Grafton Street to get the flu vaccine this October. Additionally, the team took the time to celebrate normality slowly returning to Ireland and across the world with an office night out where everyone was delighted to reconnect with each other outside of the office and enjoyed gorgeous food and drinks.

Visit Portugal webinar series, Road to Alentejo

In the run-up to the ITAA Conference in Evora held on October 14th, TTR’S Leila McCabe and Visit Portugal hosted a series of webinars titled “On the Road to Evora.” Throughout the series, agents learned everything there is to know about the Alentejo region, giving them a taste of what to expect when travelling to Evora for the conference.

Furthermore, all agencies that attended the webinar were automatically entered into a draw to win a place at the Conference, courtesy of the Alentejo Promotion Office, TAP, and the ITAA – Lee Travel was announced as the lucky winner during the final webinar.

Ali Finnegan travelled to Barbados on the Aer Lingus inaugural flight

TravelMedia.ie’s Ali Finnegan travelled to Barbados on the Aer Lingus inaugural flight from Manchester to Bridgetown with UK media. The group spent 7 days in the Bougainvillea Resort and took part in a range of activities such as rum tasting, an island safari, a luxury Catamaran cruise, and a visit to Harrison’s cave. To top it all off, everyone got a taste of the delicious Bajan food in fabulous restaurants such as Champers, one of Barbados’ finest, locally-owned restaurants.

Catherine Blake attended the Bajan Safari event in Manchester

Fun, food, music and mixology were the order of the day at The Bajan Safari, Manchester. The exciting event at The Edwardian, Manchester, celebrated the much-anticipated launch of Aer Lingus’ new direct route from Manchester to Barbados, was well attended by members of the travel trade and travel media alike. The event had 53 travel trade and media who gathered in Manchester at the Bajan Safari. Overall, the evening was a great success, with a lively drinks reception that was followed by a sumptuous three-course Bajan-themed meal, where guests were also treated to a number of rum cocktail demonstrations and a generous sample of each.

The event celebrated the much-anticipated launch of Aer Lingus’ new direct route from Manchester to Barbados, launching on October 20th. Manchester has been and is an important hub for Barbados for many years, enhanced by this new service, which offers even more access to the beautiful island of Barbados for UK and Irish holidaymakers.

ITAA Conference, Évora, Portugal

The TravelMedia.ie team had the pleasure of travelling to Évora, Alentejo to attend this year’s annual ITAA conference, supporting Visit Portugal. TravelMedia.ie interviewed the ministers who attended and captured the best moments of the conference event.

This conference was a fantastic opportunity for all attendees to learn from high-level speakers, and network with one another, sharing ideas and experiences. With a spectacular itinerary that included a range of activities, regional tours, beautiful venues and a gala dinner, the TravelMedia.ie team had a wonderful experience and is looking forward to next year now more than ever.

Rosemary O’Connell from Lee Travel at the ITAA Conference 2021, Alentejo, Portugal

Rosemary O’Connell from Lee Travel was delighted to win a trip to Portugal and to attend the ITAA Conference 2021 in Evora, Alentejo. Rosemary joined a series of webinars by Visit Portugal where she won the trip to the ITAA Conference 2021 once the series ended. Rosemary felt this was a wonderful opportunity and had a fantastic time at the conference. She enjoyed her time meeting with other delegates after 18 months, taking part in the different activities and visiting the stunning venues organised as part of the trip.

Aer Lingus’ first Caribbean service departs Manchester for beautiful Barbados

Barbados became Aer Lingus’ first Caribbean destination on the 20th of October, as the airline’s inaugural non-stop service from Manchester to Bridgetown departed. The inaugural flight marks the launch of Aer Lingus’ first Caribbean route from the UK. Flights have operated twice weekly until the beginning of November 2021, when they will now increase to three times per week. Read more of the press release here.

Scott Baker at IPW Las Vegas 2021

Scott Baker, Freelance Travel Photographer talks to TravelMedia.ie about his positive experience at IPW 2021 Las Vegas. Scott explains how much he enjoyed the IPW travel trade show and what he loved the most about the experience. Find out more by watching the video below.

Fionn Davenport at IPW Las Vegas 2021

Fionn Davenport, Editor at Irish Travel Trade Network (ITTN) talks to TravelMedia.ie about his experience at IPW 2021 Las Vegas.

He explains that “Despite the fact that it’s been delayed by 18 months, [IPW] is the trade fair for inbound tourism in the United States.” Find out why by watching the video below.

MICE Conversations Video & Podcast Series 

TravelMedia.ie has launched a new episode of the MICE Conversations podcast series where Michael Collins, M.D. of Travelmedia.ie, talks with Caroline Phelan, VisitBritain Meetings and Incentive Senior Manager Europe (Paris).

The MICE Conversations video series is available on the Travelmedia.ie YouTube channel and as a podcast on Spotify and all other podcasting streaming platforms.

Back To Andalucia Roadshow – Dublin and London

Our team organised, planned and helped host two cities that were part of a wonderful roadshow that showcased the Andalucia region in Spain to the public, bringing them a taste of what Andalucia has to offer. We are delighted to announce that the ‘Back To Andalucia‘ event was a complete success. Visitors of Blanchardstown Town Centre, Dublin and Westfield Stratford, London had a blast enjoying some flamenco dancing, singing, delicious Spanish wine and food samples, regional stands and a green screen photo booth.

British Guild of Travel Writers Annual Gala at The Savoy, London

The British Guild of Travel Writers (BGTW) Annual Gala Awards Dinner is one of the major highlights of the travel industry calendar. This year’s event was held on Sunday 31 October 2021 at The Savoy in central London where the TravelMedia.ie team managed all social channels for the evening.

Michael Collins and Leslie captured some fantastic and memorable shots of the gala event while Raluca Andronic and Ali Finnegan kept the audience up-to-date throughout the night through live-tweeting as well as posts and stories across Facebook and Instagram. The evening was an absolute treat where the team also enjoyed a fabulous meal and saw some new and old faces throughout the night – overall, a complete success!

Thank you for reading our blog ‘What We Did This Month’ – October 2021. We’ll be back next month with a round-up of our November antics. We have lots of exciting things planned!