MARCH 2020 PAGE 6 POSTCARDS FROM THE TRAVEL SCENE


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t was a hugely successful year for Celebrity Cruises who have col- lected 134 awards both globally and


in Ireland.


Jo Rzymonska, MD of Ireland, Brit- ain. and Asia said said Dublin Port, who had announced they would be solely focusing on cargo, were once again agreeing to look into propositions for the venture in the coming 24 months. Rzymonska highlighted the four fe-


male captains now on board, women now forming 50pc of hotel directors positions and females 33pc of staff. March 28th will see the delivery


to Southampton of the second billion dollar plus Edge cruise ship, Celebrity Apex and $300m is being invested in bringing the fleet up to Edge standard at a cost of $70 - $90m per ship. Jo Rzymowska is pictured with Val- erie Murphy and Michael English.


T


ony Lane reported a 10pc growth in travel to the US from Ireland. US pre-clearance here has


helped increase these numbers as both Dublin and Shannon are the only air- ports in Europe to offer it..


Sunway’s Toni Birthistle scooped the top prize of an all expenses paid trip to Florida which includes Aer Lingus flights for 2, a 4 night stay at the luxuri- ous Sonesta Suites, tickets to Universal


Studios, tickets to Sea World, car hire and dinner at the Kennedy Space Centre with an astronaut. Not bad going for a girl who admits she “never wins anything! “ Picture shows Grant Daley of Uni- versal Parks & Resorts, Mary Murphy of Visit Orlando, Michaela Grey of Sea World, Philip Britton from the Kennedy Space Centre and Tony Lane, Executive Director of Visit USA


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he silk covered confines of The Great Room at The Shelbourne Hotel provided a fitting backdrop for the 96th anniversary of the emer- gence of Turkey as a republic. Turkish ambassador, Levent Murhat Burhan, was on hand to meet and greet the extensive group of Turkish and Irish guests who filled the venue and listened to a poetic recital by Robyn Rowland from her books Under This Saffron Sun


and The Intimate War.


Ambassador Burhan also spoke of Turkey’s special relationship with Ire- land, which predates its status as a Re- public, dating back to 1847 when the young ruling sultan was informed by his Irish doctor of the great famine ravaging our country. Picture shows Maureen Ledwith and Edmund Hourican pictured with Alper Sean Hackett and Onur Gull of Turkish Airways.


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ey members of the travel trade and media were invited to Brand USA’s VIP Media event on Wednesday 4th March 2020. There they were treated to a private viewing of the organisation’s latest pro- motional documentary, Into America’s Wild, which has just been rolled out. The documentary, narrated by Mor-


gan Freeman among several others, is a visually stunning view of America’s


great outdoors and gives a truly exhila- rating snapshot of all the nature, adven- ture and breathtaking beauty that awaits its tourists when they venture off the beaten track.


Picture shows Brand USA CEO and


President, Chris L. Thompson, pitured with Tryphavana Cross of Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The IPW inbound USA event will be hosted by las Vegas in June.


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he annual event for the travel trade hosted by the Star Alliance group of airlines saw some fam-


ilar faces and some newcomers as the aliance presence grows with Dublin and Shannon airports.


Shannon airport sponsored the event,


reminding trade guests of the long standing relationship with airlines such as Air Canada, United and Lufthansa. Martina Coogan of United chair of Star


Alliance Ireland, spoke at the event. Picture shows Star Alliance Ireland representatives, Hasan Mutlu of Turk- ish Airlines, Irma Kennedy of Croatia Airlines, Lynda Betsch of Aegean, Jane Reeves of Star Alliance, Alan Sparling of ASM (at back), Blaithn O’Donnell of Air Canada (front), Martina Coogan of United chair of Star Alliance Ireland, Meseret Tekalign of Ethiopian Airlines and Ricardo Dinis of TAP Air,


T


he Association of Women Travel Executives pulled out all the stops on Friday December 6th


with one of the jewels in the Crown of their annual calendar of events, the Christmas lunch.


This year’s eagerly anticipated gath- ering was held at Suesey Street res- taurant where the dulcet tones of Sean Boland kept the white linen napkins waving in the air.


In the words of Clare Dunne: “For 2020 hold your head up high and talk about your industry with pride”. Picture shows the Committee . Fiona Foster of Cassidy Travel, Maura Mal- oney of Dublin Airport, Clare Dunne of The Travel Broker, Dympna Crow- ley of Lee Travel, Teresa Murphy of Air France/KLM. Ffront row: Martina Coogan of United Airlines, Lorraine Quinn of Celebrity Cruises.


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