SPRING
SAVINGS: Aer Lingus is cutting the cost of spring travel
from New York to Ireland and Europe, with discount airfares, free
connecting flights and savings on land options. The Irish flag
carrier cut fares in May and June by 20%, with roundtrips between
New York (Kennedy) and Shannon or Dublin starting at $398 in May,
and $466 June 1 to 15. Aer Lingus also offers free onward flights
to seven cities London or Bristol, England; Glasgow, Scotland;
Amsterdam; Brussels; and Dusseldorf or Frankfurt, Germany from May
1 to June 15. Travelers purchasing eligible transatlantic fares
also qualify for a $75 credit toward Aer Lingus Vacations packages.
The offers are available only at Aer Lingus telephone reservations
line at (800) IRISH AIR or (800) 474-7424.
BREHON BOOKING: One-hundred-twenty-five-room, $34
million spa resort The Brehon in Killarney which offers guaranteed
U.S. dollar rates of $270 per night, double, with breakfast and
taxes, through Oct. 31, and then $250 per night Nov. 1 to March 31,
2006 is now bookable in the U.S. through Waterstone Marketing, at
(800) 528-6069. Agent pay on bookings is 10%. For more information,
visit www.thebrehon.com.
SCEPTRE GOES AMERICAN: Agent-only, Ireland
specialist operator Sceptre Tours signed a deal with American
Airlines that it said will help promote its Ireland product beyond
the traditional northeastern U.S. markets served by its other
airline partner, Aer Lingus. Sceptre president Chris Accomando said
the new partnership expands the number of departures and net
airfare rates available from key gateway markets, such as Chicago,
Dallas and Miami, where American is dominant. For more
information, visit www.sceptretours.com or call (800) 221-0924.
UP WITH HERITAGE: The Dublin-based Heritage
Island marketing group of Irish historical attractions has been
lobbying Irish lawmakers and tourism officials since February to
raise the profile of heritage product in overseas marketing and
online at sites such as www.tourismireland.com and www.ireland.ie. In
other news, a poll of Heritage Island member attractions found that
from Jan. 1 to March 31, 90% of respondents report business growth,
with an average 5% increase over the same months in 2003. And
nearly two-thirds report higher advance bookings this year than
last. For more information, call (011) 353-1 236-6890; e-mail [email protected] or visit www.heritageisland.com.
SPEAKING OF HERITAGE: On this side of the
Atlantic, Tourism Ireland partnered with The Smithsonian Associates
and the Wales Tourist Board to offer 20 Celtic Connection seminars
this June in Washington, D.C. The Irish portion of the program
consists of 11 one-day events focusing on Irish music, archaeology,
cooking, film, religion, literature, and of course travel.
Celebrity participants include tenor Ronan Tynan and chef Kevin
Dundon. For more information or to register, phone (202) 357-3030;
fax to (202) 786-2034; or visit www.residentassociates.org.