Maria and her husband Darren’s mission is to have “our customers arrive as guests and leave as friends”.

What’s your top tip for first-time visitors to Westport?

Always ask locals for recommendations for whatever you are looking for. Things to do, best pubs, restaurants, places to go. Its what I would always do if I am away, you can’t beat local knowledge for finding quirky places to see & always eat where the locals do.

When you go for a walk in or close to Westport, where do you like to go, and why?

I love walking with my 2 dogs on a loop around Rosbeg. Even though it’s the same walk, I never get tired of it. The sea & Croagh Patrick look different every day and I finish it off with the dogs (not me) going for a swim at the pier. Magic.

What’s your favourite Westport festival, and why?

Ones I like to attend are Westival & the Rolling sun book festival and The Bluegrass festival. I love the buzz in the town when Gaelforce & Sea2summitt adventure races are on, although I am far too lazy to take part.

If you weren’t a hotelier, what would you choose to be?

Psychology has always been an interest of mine so I would have liked to do something in connection with that. I also love music & animals.

What’s the strangest thing someone has left behind in a room in your hotel?

An oxygen tank!

What’s the most heartwarming experience you’ve had as a hotelier?

I love when you can do something small for somebody and it just means so much. It’s the little things you may do that you get the best feedback on sometimes & it’s the best feeling.

If you could stay a week in any hotel in the world, where would you choose, and why?

Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa, one of my favourite places in the world, for the people, the animals, the food & wine. I love that It employs locals and a percentage of what you pay goes back into the local community & schools.

What do you like best about what you do? 

The variety and believe me there is never a dull day, we always say here how many books we could write. Also, it’s the people, I don’t think there is any other industry where you have to be an employer, social worker, phycologist, mentor, chef, barman, receptionist, electrician, plumber…the list is endless. The phrase, ‘jack of all trades & master of none’ comes to mind!

www.clewbayhotel.com

Fáilte Farewell to top travel bloggers as conference and trips close off

More than 3 billion Twitter impressions were generated globally in relation to Ireland and the TBEX conference over the last two weeks as more than 600 of the world’s top travel social influencers gathered in Killarney to attend TBEX Europe, the largest gathering of travel bloggers, writers, content creators and social media influencers in Europe.

This highly influential group – with a combined reach of 380 million travel fans – also explored Ireland over the last fortnight on bespoke Fáilte Ireland fact-finding trips to experience first-hand what Ireland’s Ancient East, the Wild Atlantic Way and Dublin have to offer. They have been sharing their experiences and photos as they travelled and we have captured some of their reactions to their trip on video.

Before they left, 90 of the most influential travel bloggers gathered in Fáilte Ireland’s HQ in Dublin for a farewell meeting and to say goodbye after a very active two weeks.

Bidding the bloggers farewell, Fáilte Ireland CEO, Paul Kelly said:

“TBEX Europe gave us a great opportunity to bring so many travel bloggers, traditional travel media, digital content creators and social media influencers to Ireland all at once. Observing the activity online, Ireland is already reaping the benefits of their time spent here.

“With 3 billion Twitter impressions, we have certainly ensured an increased digital footprint for Ireland over the last fortnight but, crucially, all these delegates will be creating Irish related output and content for weeks to come ensuring a strong after-effect to the event. We hope that in all their sharing and showing, their content will reinforce the many reasons why Ireland should be a destination of choice for their many followers.”

Since its inception in 2009 TBEX has grown into the world’s largest travel community, with conferences held annually in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. In 2016, TBEX events across the globe reached over 358 million travel consumers worldwide.

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Speaking at the award’s ceremony at Clontarf Castle, Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring congratulated Westport on winning the 2014 crown – “Congratulations to Westport on what is a great achievement and worthy recognition for all that they do for tourism in Ireland. These awards are all about honouring the towns that put tourism at the centre of what they do. This is particularly evident with our winners with Westport clearly embracing tourism and seizing the opportunities that it brings.”

The Tourism Towns Award was designed by Fáilte Ireland to promote those Irish towns and villages which are working hardest to enhance their appeal to tourists visiting their local area. As the overall winner, Westport received its winning certificate along with a €5,000 grant towards further developing itself as a tourism destination.

A panel of independent assessors and a team of ‘secret shoppers’ visited each town to measure their tourism performance and the level of welcome to visitors. The Tourism Town award focuses on how participating towns have developed their local area in the following key tourism areas:

• Sense of Place – How the town tells its own unique story to visitors, what’s special about it, and what distinguishes it from other towns.
• Local Involvement – How the local community works together to provide an authentic visitor experience.
• Tourism Products Available – What the town has to offer visitors.
• Development and promotion of the town – How the town takes a unified approach to marketing and developing the town into a “tourism town”.

Congratulating all the towns involved, Paul Keeley from Fáilte Ireland said:

“If The Gathering taught us one thing, it was that those towns and parishes with the greatest grass roots engagement with tourism thrive the most. The objective of our Tourism Towns Awards is to encourage and recognise this type of community-wide commitment where it exists and share their achievements with other towns. A true ’Tourism Town’ isn’t necessarily a town that gains the most from tourism but rather a town that gives the most. In that respect Westport is a worthy winner this year.”

Accepting the award on behalf of Westport, Dermott Langan said –

“Over the years the tourism product has been greatly expanded, now competing with leading tourist destinations worldwide. Westport offers a very varied palate of visitor attractions and activities, coupled with amazing local foods and a great choice of accommodation in a setting of spectacular scenery”

THE JUDGES’ COMMENTS ON WESTPORT

First impressions are that this town is something special. One can see at the onset that this is a very well organised/maintained and compact town with lots to offer. There is a great sense of energy and pride in the town and it is obvious from the locals that they are well used to dealing with tourists. They say variety is the spice of life and Westport is not short of either. There is something for everyone and caters well for Ireland’s climate. The locals were very friendly and approachable. There is no doubt that tourism is the mainstay of the town.

Try our 3 days horse riding package and experience the best possible combination of great horse trekking and excellent accommodation. You will enjoy a guided 2 hour scenic mountain trek along the foothills of Croagh Patrick, which will be followed by a beach ride along the Atlantic Shore the next day. Take in the breathtaking scenery of Clew Bay and experience sure-footed horses full of character.

3 Nights Bed and Breakfast & 2 Dinners, 2 days Riding and one complimentary Seaweed Bath for €299pps

Link to Offer