Promoting Tourism Together - Networking Event Promoting Tourism Together Longford Tourism in collaboration with Longford Local Enterprise Office held a free online networking event for all Tourism Providers on Tuesday 27th April 2021 from 10am -12pm .
The theme of the event was “promoting tourism together ”. The primary aim was to help connect our tourism providers with Fáilte Ireland , the Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands brand, Longford Tourism and importantly with each other .
Stronger connections between accommodation and activity providers will allow us to build more complex, interesting and interactive itineraries . Working together, cross-selling and knowing what we have to promote will help individual providers and help to make the County more attractive to visitors . The event included a series of elevator pitches from Longford’s activity providers, a session on how to sell yourself and your business via social media and an opportunity to meet fellow tourism providers.
Facilitator: Pat Claffey, QMP Consulting
Topics Introduction Introduction by Michéal Carrigy, Chairperson of Longford Tourism. He thanked and welcomed people and spoke about the launch of the Royal Canal Greenway and how County Longford needs to make the most of this amazing opportunity. A video of the Royal Canal Greenway was shown.
VIDEO
5 Daily steps to make your post lockdown success a certainty Mark Usher, a Motivational talk to help dust off the cobwebs. Mark has also kindly made 3 podcasts available.
Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands (IHH) Sarah McCarthy from Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, an introduction & how to link with IHH
Fáilte Ireland Jean Smyth from Fáilte Ireland explaining the Accommodation standard and promoting its benefits
Other useful links provided by Fáilte Ireland: Discover Ireland , Accommodation section , Fáilte Ireland website , Quality Assurance Section – General information about the NQAF , Welcome Standard General Information , Welcome Standard Criteria , Welcome Standard Code of Ethics , Trade Portal , Business Supports Hub , Re-opening Guidelines , COVID-19 Safety Charter
Longford Tourism & how to link with us & Optimising your digital marketing platform Dympna Reilly – www.longford.ie & Longford Tourism events Guide
Tara Cunningham – Longford Tourism Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & YouTube
Dympna Reilly - some practical tips on optimising your digital marketing platform
A Success Story Electric Bike Trails, Leitrim Village
VIDEO
Networking & making connections 2 min elevator pitches from activity Providers to demonstrate their product with a brief Q&A after each elevator pitch. For more information, please check out each activity provider on this website.
Janice Belton, Backstage Theatre VIDEO
Fiona Egan, Cloughan Farm & Cookery School VIDEO
Robert Crilly, Midlands Cycle Hub VIDEO
Bartle D’Arcy, Knights & Conquests VIDEO
Aaron Maughan, AM Pike Guiding VIDEO
Alan Broderick, Access for all VIDEO
Annette Corkery, Creative Ardagh VIDEO
Matt Farrell, Maria Edgeworth Centre VIDEO
Matt Farrell, Longford Golf Club VIDEO
Feedback and Conclusion There was an excellent attendance with 50+ participants taking part and very positive feedback with enquiries to both Longford Tourism & Fáilte Ireland re attaining the Welcome Standard.
Future sessions There will be follow-up sessions coordinated by Longford Tourism to work with small groups on networking and itineraries. These itineraries will be compiled and promoted on www.longford.ie and all tourism providers website. We also plan to have a 2 hours Digital Marketing workshop.
We hope you enjoyed and benefited from this event. Happy Networking!
