Tourism and Technology

Technology and Tourism in the North West

Technology and Tourism in the North West

Fáilte Ireland’s annual e-business conference event will take place at the Clarion Hotel, Sligo on Tuesday 24th April from 8.00am. This year’s conference, entitled “Your Online Focus – Home and Away”, will explore how technology and tourism can be brought closer together so that tourism businesses in Donegal and the North West can sell more effectively to the 21st century tourist both domestic and overseas.

The internet is the most important factor for almost half of those overseas travellers who decide to visit Ireland with seven out of ten relying on the web to plan their visit here.

Delegates will hear from a number of online experts such as Scott Field, Google who will outline how businesses can make themselves more easily found on Google and the tools that are available to make that happen.

Andrew Weld-Moore, Facebook will examine the benefits of setting up a business page using social networking sites, such as Facebook, and how tourism businesses can optimise their online presence for both domestic and international consumers.

Allister McGregor, Trip Advisor will also be present at the conference to discuss the prominence of customer reviews and how tourism and hospitality businesses can most effectively address issues associated with this enormously powerful and popular review platform.

Breakout sessions including an open house workshop will also take place during the day which will enable attendees to meet with the presenters and discuss their offerings on a one to one basis.
Looking forward to the conference, Mr Stephen Dudley, Fáilte Ireland’s E-business Manager, emphasised:

The majority of travellers now research, plan and book their holidays through the internet with many spending hours visiting a number of websites before making a decision. It is imperative for tourism businesses to engage with new technology and ensure that they online and ready for business. We are particularly delighted that this year Trip Advisor is taking part in the conference. Ensuring that you are up to speed with online reviewing and how to deal with it must be an integral part of a tourism business’ day to day activity.

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