There are two airline industry news stories about Irish LCC Ryanair floating around this week, and we'll leave you to decide the precise degree to which they're related. We're specifying "airline industry" stories, in contrast to just Ryanair stories "in general," to emphasize that these are different from the fake "no frills" PR branding nonsense that Ryanair endlessly pushes into the travel journalism newsstream (e.g. this near self-parody of a CNN story headlined "Ryanair's 5 'cheapest' money-saving schemes"). These are actual news stories, as much as is possible with these guys.
First up, Ryanair's the-customer-is-always-wrong CEO Michael O'Leary just announced a massive expansion of the airline. Ryanair will reportedly purchase over 200 new airplanes from US, Chinese and Russian plane manufacturers, a total that would easily make the airline one of the world's largest. O'Leary is promising that the planes will come at "cheap prices."]]>
The best way to bond with dad on Father's Day is a good old-fashioned family vacation. But instead of heading to your usual vacay spot in Florida or California, change it up and surprise him by going someplace unexpected, whether you visit the beaches of Puerto Rico, road-trip it in Ireland or cruise the Caribbean.
Check out our list of three family vacation hotspots for Father's Day:]]>
It's very easy to stereotype Ireland travel—to say nothing of Ireland itself—as a series of pubs, drunkenness, and the occasional potato farm. We know it's easy because that's almost entirely the picture that Tourism Ireland painted when they did their last social media campaign.
We wrote at the time that the image was a bit unfair, and that neither the country nor the tourists who travel there should be stereotyped. Then we highlighted Ireland, with its gorgeous scenary and summer cultural offerings, as one of the places where you should seriously consider spending your tax refund. Not to give away the ending, but not only were we were demonstrably right, but now there are numbers to prove it.
Figures came out over the weekend on Ireland's top tourism destinations. Wouldn't you know it, and despite the best efforts of frat boys everywhere, the Guinness Storehouse did not take the top stop. That was reserved for the impressive Dublin Zoo, with its 59 acres of plants and animals (by way of comparison, our beloved San Diego Zoo, a widely acknowledged global leader in conservation, clocks in at 40 acres).]]>
Tax day is coming, and you are excited not because you look forward to sifting through receipts and credit card statements, but because you're getting a fat refund...probably. The economy may be on its way back up, but you should try to stretch that tax refund as far as you can.
You may have had your dose of Ireland from St. Patrick's Day earlier in the month, but if you are looking to make the most of your tax refund, you should consider heading out to the Emerald Isle. After all, there's much more to see than pubs full of Guinness.]]>
We've been pretty skeptical about airlines and tourism boards that go all-in on social media, the fear being that "building something shiny" gets in the way of "designing something useful."
There are productive ways of using social media—Twitter for customer service, Facebook for coupon campaigns, etc—and then there's what happens when companies build something just because everyone else is doing it. Creating Facebook games in particular has become a problem, with some travel companies doing very well and others not so much.
The newest attempt at social gaming comes from Tourism Ireland, which hopes to harness the power of Facebook to get tourists to the Emerald Isle. The game, dubbed "Ireland Town," is built as an explicit Farmville knockoff. Users are tasked with creating their own Irish town in between visiting tourist attractions and defeating challenges. Those who get through are entered in a contest for a four-night stay in Ireland.
And here's where things begin to head south.]]>
St. Patrick's Day is less than two weeks away, so now's the time to make plans. But instead of hitting up your local pub for a beer-fueled evening—which is what you do every weekend anyway—hit up an authentic Irish city, whether it be locally in Boston or in the motherland in Dublin.
Check out some last-minute St. Patrick's Day deals after the jump.]]>
St. Patrick's Day is around the corner and the place to celebrate with a pint of Guinness will be the mecca for all things St. Pat's: Dublin, Ireland. Travelzoo is running a great deal that will send you to the Emerald Isle for only $599.
Unfortunately, the package gets you to Dublin on March 19, two days after St. Pat's Day, but the country will surely still be celebrating when you arrive. In fact, Dublin's official St. Patrick's Day Festival runs through March 20. So be sure to pack your tackiest big old green hat to share in the festivities. The deal is partially so good because it happens just after the holiday.]]>