
Ireland West Airport reports strong performance in 2022
2022 has proven to be a strong year of recovery at Ireland West Airport, with passenger numbers increasing by 314% to 722,000 compared to 174,000 passengers in 2021. Compared to pre-covid levels, passenger numbers recovered to 89% of the record 2019 level of 807,000 passengers.
The number of passengers traveling on services to and from mainland and continental Europe hit a new high for the airport, surpassing 2019 levels, increasing by 9% to 138,621, with a particularly strong performance recorded on services to and from Cologne, Barcelona and Milan which in turn generated significant economic benefits for the West, North West and Midlands regions through increased overseas visitors from these regions.

Tom Britton (Marble City Travel) back on track with Travel Centres
Tom Britton and the Marble City Travel team are back in the Travel Centres stables with champion trainer Dominic Burke. Tom is pictured here with champion jockey Alan Sparling following their win at last year’s Grand National.
Congratulations Tom and all the Marble City team and we look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Travelbiz at the Ballet with ATTS
Gliding along on gossamer wings, like the Corps de Ballet, Jacinta from Travelbiz attends the Estonian National Ballet at the kind invitation of ATTS Travel Representation Solutions who represent Visit Estonia here. The Estonian Ambassador to Ireland, Her Excellency Mrs Kairi Kunka attended and had warm words and Agnia Nast (Marketing Manager Visit Estonia) equally offered a lovely welcome. Joining the ebullient Catherine Grennell-Whyte (MD ATTS) for a delicious dinner in the Marker Hotel before the ballet performance, I’m apprised of ATTS success to date. Established since 2002, Catherine has solidified the company as an award-winning market leader in GSA Representation and travel & tourism industry.

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TPG announce dates for their 2023 Agent Appreciation Events
TPG - Travel Partners Group are reshaping their agent events for 2023.
“Travel Partners Group was formed 9 years ago and today TPG is a fluid group of 10 Irish based suppliers. Our roadshows, table quizzes and boat trips have been a great success over the years and this year, our renamed ‘Agent Appreciation Events’ will have an emphasis on informative casual gatherings with bagsful of fun & entertainment thrown in”, commented Alan Sparling (ASM Ireland).
“We are additionally producing a bi-monthly trade e-brochure to share snippets of news from each supplier and sponsor. And to further stay informed, TPG have their Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/TPG.IE where we share our latest news and offers.

Thailand welcomes all international tourists
The Tourism Authority of Thailand would like to clarify that Thailand continues to welcome all international tourists under the fully-reopen-to-tourism policy that was introduced on 1 October 2022. Only visitors coming from or going to countries which require a RT-PCR test need to have health insurance covering treatment of COVID-19 in Thailand.

The Bedford Townhouse wins major award
The Brazil family winning formula continues with Peter and Denise Brazil winning the Best Townhouse Category at the recent Georgina Campbell's ireland-guide.com Small Stay Awards 2022.
This is an amazing achievement and testament to all the hard work of the great team at the Bedford Townhouse Limerick, right next door to the multi award winning Limerick Travel.
The Bedford Townhouse is a boutique hotel and restaurant in the heart of Limerick City.

Cork Airport announce biggest schedule for 2023
Ryanair, Europe and Ireland’s no. 1 airline, announced its biggest ever Cork summer schedule with 29 routes, including 5 exciting new routes to La Rochelle, Rome, Seville, Venice Treviso and East Midlands, for Summer ‘23. This record schedule is underpinned by Ryanair’s third based aircraft at Cork this summer, which represents a total investment of $300m. Ryanair will operate 270 weekly flights to/from Cork (+20% growth vs. S22), driving invaluable inbound tourism and offering its south-west customers unbeatable choice and the lowest fares when booking their summer getaways.

Congratulations Martina Coogan as United Airlines Expands Role of Country Sales Manager
United Airlines has expanded the role of its Dublin based Country Sales Manager, Martina Coogan, to include Scotland, effective 1 January 2023. In her extended role as Regional Sales Manager Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland, Martina and the Irish sales team will now additionally be responsible for United’s sales across Scotland.

Cruisescapes with NCL Prima in Miami
Eleanor Morton (Cruisescapes) sent Travelbiz this great report from NCL Prima in Miami.
After her Christening in Iceland at the end of the summer, Norwegian's newest ship, Prima, embarked on a series of European voyages before heading Stateside for the winter season. Norwegian Cruise lines hosted a series of inaugural sailings onboard for their American agents and special invited guests and Travel Escapes was lucky enough to be amongst them.
Eleanor (Cruisescapes) enjoyed 3 nights onboard, experiencing all this innovative ship has to offer, and all under the bright Bahamian sun, as Prima made her way from Miami to Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's private island in the Bahamas.