Holiday show heats up with new routes

Some 10,000 people thronged Dublin’s RDS looking for one-off deals on the opening day of the Holiday World Show.

The event, now in its 25th year, hosts 1,000 travel experts from 50 countries offering deals and tips available only at the show. Yesterday’s attendance was up about 10% on last year and organisers are hopeful that 50,000 people will visit the RDS over the weekend.

Almost 8m trips abroad will be made from Ireland this year and travellers can avail of over 30 new air routes, including a large increase in capacity to Canada and the US.

The Holiday World Show also hosts Irish exhibitors offering staycations.

With 1.2m Irish people visiting Spain every year, Spanish exhibitors are often the most popular, and 14 of the Spanish regions are in attendance this year.

Editor of Travel Extra magazine Eoghan Corry, will again host free travel clinics, with leading industry specialists hosting talks and answering questions on a range of travel-related topics. Experts will discuss subjects such as cruises, weddings abroad, 2014’s top destinations, safaris and ski holidays.

CEO of the Irish Travel Agents’ Association, Pat Dawson, said demand for the event this year was extremely high.

“The Holiday World Show is a fantastic event for travel agents and consumers alike. The economic downturn has made it difficult for many to afford holidays the last couple of years, but Irish travel agents at the show will be focusing on quality and affordability as well as dispensing invaluable destination advice.

“Recent market research has indicated that one in two Irish adults will take a foreign holiday in 2014,” he said.

Managing director of the Holiday World Show, Edmund Hourican, said the new routes on offer this year was an exciting prospect for both the consumer and the industry.

“With new routes to Canada starting in the new year, we’re expecting a huge level of interest in Canadian holidays at the show. Lots of destinations are taking the Irish market seriously with new exhibitors coming to Holiday World Show for the first time including Oman, Jordan, and South Korea,” he said.