MTB Skills day Rostrevor Oct 09

Ballyhoura good spot for mountainbiking

Just returned last week from a brief business trip to Limerick when I got time (well 45 mins) to try out the new Coilte MTB trails at Ballyhoura. I tried the Green Loop (6Km) really a taster loop but if this is anything to go by I'll certainly be back. What's really impressive is how well maintained the 5 trails are with excellent shower/changing facilities and bike wash at the trailhead. Car park is 5euro. There is an interesting event there this summer The Beast of Ballyhoura Adventure Race - if you're not up to the 2-day team event there is a duathlon 25k mtb cycle + 10k run on Day 2. A great spot for walking and cycling - check out http://www.ballyhoura.org/

Hotels and restaurants are top places to find customer service -What do you think?

When it comes to customer service, hotels and restaurants are showing other industries the way forward, according to a recent survey, which placed both in the top five sectors for quality service.

The report from moneysupermarket.com showed that hotels were considered the second best places to find top customer service, beaten only by hairdressers, with restaurants and coffee shops coming in fourth

Irish Accommodation providers on Youtube

The dynamics of building relationships with existing and new visitors is in a process of rapid and significant change but for destination promoters it will no longer be sufficient to just maintain an information-rich destination website. The emergence of social media means that competitive destinations and tourism businesses will need to provide a platform that will facilitate dialogue among past and future visitors.

Following from a thread on Talktourism I looked at a range of accommodation providers using Youtube. More tourism businessess are using this medium now but in light of the growing demand for interactive communication there still is a long way to go.

Selection of Irish accommodation sites on YouTube
Isaacs Dublin
Lough Derg Holiday Village
The Ritz Accommodation, Killybegs
Self catering holiday homes in Kilkee
Discover Killaloe self catering holiday homes Clare Ireland
MY IRISH LODGE® http://myirishlodge.com Bed and Breakfast Ireland, Glinn,Limerick
Town & Country Homes Bed and Breakfast Ireland
Avalon, Bed & Breakfast Glenties Co Donegal
Silver Springs Hotel, Cork
Ardmore Hotel Dublin (professional?)
Best Western Aisling Hotel Dublin (professional?)
Tripadvisor Video Gallery