FRONTLINE
sharon thompson owner, Thompson Travel, Portadown, Northern Ireland
As I sit in traffic heading from Dublin
towards home in Northern Ireland, I often wonder where everyone is going. Are their journeys for business or pleasure? Are they thinking of their next holiday as far ahead as 2027? Late requests have flooded in this month, though that fragile calm across the Middle East has unravelled again, leaving the world back on edge and hoping cooler heads prevail before travel plans and confidence take a hit. It’s a reminder that in this job, you rarely get to plan for a settled world. To pass the time, the music is on and I’m singing along. My Spotify playlist is still focusing on better days, entwined with the usual heartache vibes. You can’t beat a bit of U2 and Dolly Parton, God rest her soul. Whether you still haven’t found what you’re looking for or you’re working 9 to 5, I know all the words!
MUSICAL MAGIC Thinking of Dolly brings Nashville to mind. A few weeks ago, I was privileged to be hosted by Tryp Cross of the Visit USA Ireland board, alongside key personnel from the Grand Ole Opry and Nashville Tourism, at the Duke of York in Belfast. Ray Fulcher, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter known for the multi- platinum tracks he wrote for Luke Combs, entertained us with his
26 10 SEPTEMBER 2026 AGENT
Outbound bookings are still strong but I’m more than happy to promote tourism to Northern Ireland too
music while tracing his career. He is such a grounded country lad who humbly followed his dream to heights he had only imagined. A couple of weeks ago, my friend Mark and I hit the Grand Opera House in Belfast for a tribute to Johnny Cash and June Carter. That didn’t disappoint, after we had filled our boots to eloquent sufficiency at Amelia Hall. The Belfast Fleadh had bellowed out music for a week prior, with both sides of our community blending into all types of genres well into the evenings. There’s something special about a city that can go from a country music tribute one week to a full
week of trad and folk the next, with everyone getting stuck in regardless of what they usually listen to.
DOMESTIC BLISS The weather is still good even though the days are shortening – I sound like my mother! If you’ve never been, you should take a hike up the Mourne Mountains in County Down. A great hangover cure is to be had from a climb of Slieve Donard the day after our NI Travel Awards. Last weekend we took a trip to Doan via Ott Mountain – no idea where the name came from, but the views were superb. The point I’m getting to is
that there is so much to do in our native country of Northern Ireland – you should come visit. Honestly, you’ll be fine. I still get asked if it’s safe. We laugh it off, but come on, 1.8 million of us live here and you’ll not find better hospitality than in our wee country. This is my plug for inbound
tourism. We both need each other as ‘cogs in the wheel’ of travel. I hope the tourist boards give outbound travel the same importance in their discussions – it works both ways, and the more we all champion each other’s patches, the better it is for everyone in this industry.
Dolly Parton
travelweekly.co.uk
WE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU, DOLLY
Speaking of Dolly Parton, she is an icon who will live on through the music that gave us years of toe-tapping music. She was a farmer, and a singer with a huge heart wrapped in rhinestones and boots. She never forgot her roots and had a great business head. Dolly always said: “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” My favourite song of hers has to be that song Whitney Houston made a massive global hit, I Will Always Love You. Dolly sang it best, and wrote it too – not many artists can say they gave the world a song that big and let someone else make it their own. Rest in peace, DRP.
AndreaJennifer MattMatt AndreaJennifer diary diary
& Ashley Clare Ashley Clare Helen Helen
Sharon Sharon
PICTURE: Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
