Monica Nerney, Tourism Ireland manager for Northern Europe
MY JOB IS to manage the Nordic countries plus the Netherlands and Belgium, and I’ve been doing it for about two years. I get the Dart in from Dún Laoghaire to my office near St Stephen’s Green.
I’m in for 9am and, because I travel so much during the week, the first thing I do when I get to the office is check the paperwork to make sure all the purchase orders and finances are sorted.
I was out at meetings all day yesterday, and a business tourism workshop, so that’s what I did first thing this morning.
Right now I’m printing out material to read on the train to Belfast this afternoon where I’ve a meeting with both Belfast City and International airport authorities.
Making sure there is enough flight access for overseas visitors means presenting to airports and airlines is a big part of my work.
For example, right now we’re pushing Swedish tour operators to put together packages for the Solheim Cup, which will be held at Killeen Castle in September, but they are telling us there aren’t enough flights, so that’s what I’m working on.
Sweden was traditionally a huge golf market for Ireland but when golfing here became too expensive during the boom they stopped coming. Now that prices have fallen we have an opportunity to build that back up.
I’ve spent €200,000 on advertising recently to promote Irish golfing in Sweden.
I’m also trying to develop the Nordic markets out of their traditional view of Ireland as a citybreak, weekend-only destination. They tend not to leave Dublin and they won’t drive when they get here.
The Dutch, by contrast, are much more adventurous and will stay longer and explore everywhere. They particularly love Northern Ireland.
The Belgian market is primarily a business travel one focusing on Brussels. Another part of my job is encouraging conference business to Ireland and having the new Convention Centre has been a huge help in that respect. It has really put us on the map.
I’d be away travelling to one or other of our offices most weeks.
I love the variety of it although airports can be tiring. I’m very good at packing mind you. The trick is to lay everything out on the bed first and only then pack. If you fill the bag as you go, you’ll end up taking too much.
If I’m away I’ll usually be at an evening event but if I’m in our Dublin office I’ll finish up at around 6.30pm and head home for a run. I gave up smoking a few years ago and took up running to fill the gap.
Now I run marathons. The ones I love best are those run in Connemara, Dingle and Killarney, they’re amazing and, in tourism terms, a product nobody else in the world can compete with.
In conversation with
SANDRA O'CONNELL