The beautiful Four Seasons Hotel Carlingford was the setting for the 10th Annual Cross Border Tourism Conference organized by Dundalk Chamber of Commerce.

The event, which was sponsored by ZOMA, Louth County Council, Local Enterprise Office Louth, and The Marshes Shopping Centre and attracted just under two hundred delegates from all over Ireland. The Conference was facilitated by Kieran Swail, Southern Regional College.

The event brought together various tourism projects around Ireland and it really was a case of “Learning from the Best.”

There were four key speakers including:

Siobhan O’Connor, Corcreggan Mill discussed how Corcreggan Mill had embraced the concept of agility to drive sustainable growth. Siobhan shared how the business has overcome seasonality by implementing an 8:4 strategy with no groups in high season.  The company has also used the “Workaway” platform to address skills shortages.

David Kieran, Managing Direct of ZOMA spoke about “How Digital Marketing is redefining the Future of Travel & Tourism.” He encouraged the audience to embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and to repurpose video content. 95% of travellers check reviews before making decisions, so he urged businesses to focus on User Generated Content and customer reviews.

Mike Ahern, General Manager Wildlands explained how Wildlands had thrived in tough economic times, achieved through linking in with the local community. He highlighted how the company focuses on “The Candidate Experience” when recruiting staff. One of Wildland’s core principles is to “Recruit for Behaviour and Train for Skill”.

Pól Ó Conghaile, Travel Editor with the Irish Independent introduced 10 Travel Trends in 2024 highlighting regional and international examples of tourism businesses that are creative and innovative by “doing something different” to attract visitors, to increase visitor spend and to stretch the visitor season.

There were twenty-five exhibitors from all over Louth and beyond and delegates were able to visit the trade stands and network.

Michael Gaynor, Director of Dundalk Chamber opened the Conference.  Brendan McSherry, Heritage Officer with Louth County Council closed the event. There were also short contributions from Sabhbh Ni Mhaolagain, Senior Tourism Officer with Louth County Council and Pamela Kerr from Louth Local Enterprise Office.

 

For further information on this press release contact Paddy Malone PRO Dundalk Chamber on 086 8244 098 or email paddy@malone.ie