REVENGE tourism” - the new buzzword, about holidaymakers making up for time lost with Covid-19, was bandied around a lot at Holiday World last Friday.

Back after a three-year absence, there was a steady stream of bargain and inspiration hunters arriving at the Simmonscourt pavilion last Friday, on the opening morning of the three-day holiday fair.

Some 1,000 travel experts from 50 countries, including a strong presence by Irish trade operators, were waiting for trade and general public customers.

Like many industries, the holiday sector has taken a global hit between the pandemic, Ukraine War, rising fuel prices and recession fears. In one example, 10 travel agents have closed down in Ireland in this three-year timeframe. Partly with the changing landscape of traditional main street businesses and also, in the smartphone era, as customers become increasingly adept at making their own travel arrangements.

Despite recent drawbacks, the Irish love to travel. Staycations or the most exotic, far-flung destinations were all there for Holiday World-goers, including several equestrian-themed suggestions.

Staycations

Discover Ireland, Fáilte Ireland’s timeless slogan, was adopted in droves during Ireland’s lockdowns. Will the staycation trend continue or will Irish holidaymakers spread their wings again? “We’ll just have to wait and see,” was the general consensus at the Irish tradestands.

The theme for this year’s trawl around the Discover Ireland aisles was a mini-break centred around a day at a horse show and taking in the surrounding scenery and attractions.

Starting with Bannow & Rathangan, which hosts the All Ireland three-year-old final and Grand Prix show jumping. The south-east downs tools for that day and heads to Killag, a stone’s throw from Kilmore Quay where the Saltee Islands ferry sails from.

“Castles, culture, history, Vikings, everything is there. I was completely amazed at what Wexford had to offer,” said Dublin-born Laura McGlynn representing www.visitwexford.ie. “Going to Wexford is a family tradition that continues for generations.”

Included among a brochure, full of suggestions for a Model County 48-hour stay, are beach treks provided by Shrule Equestrian Centre and visits to Hook Lighthouse, Tintern Abbey, the Dunbrody Famine Ship and the street art of New Ross.

Among the Balmoral Show spectators? Extend your stay with a city break, suggests Alister Bell from www.visitbelfast.com.

“So many things! You have the Titanic Centre, the hop on/hop off city tour, Ulster Museum, the iconic Crumlin Road Jail, there’s a number of distillery tours opening up and if you fancy a wee bit of excitement, we have the toboggan run and Forest Flyover biplane at Colin Glen Forest Park, great craic!

“In the next couple of years, as the new Grand Central Station transport hub opens, you’ll be coming right into Belfast city centre by train. The transport links for Balmoral Show are brilliant, get the train to Lisburn and take the free shuttle bus to Balmoral Park.”

Belfast’s competitive hotel prices beat Dublin’s hands down, coming in at 30-50% cheaper for similarly-rated properties.

“There’s hotels to suit all budgets, including some fabulous boutique hotels if you want to treat yourself. As for food, we all like our food and everyone has to go to the Crown,” said Alastair, mentioning Belfast’s iconic pub, a Victorian gin palace, which dates back to 1826.

“Then there’s the Spirits Circle, they take you through a tour of your senses, you get to sample different drinks and then at the end, they make your own bespoke cocktail based on your favourite senses. So it’s those kind of evening things that make a Belfast visit and there’s the Northern Ireland sense of humour, we all enjoy the craic!”

Peru Perhaps? Rafael Suárez Peña, Ana Maria Sanchez, the Peruvian Ambassador to Ireland, Erika Pastor and Milena Rodriguez at Holiday World \ Susan Finnerty

Spotlight

Wexford’s Curracloe Beach and Belfast’s skyline and streets featured in the hit movies Saving Private Ryan and Belfast. Now both Inis Mór and Achill Island look set to benefit from the priceless global advertising as the settings for The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh’s multi-nominated film.

“It was huge when they were filming last summer, it’s been absolutely magnificent for the island. The film really did take legs and is going from strength to strength, getting huge recognition nationally and worldwide,” said Anna Connor, who works with Mayo County Council’s Tourism, Recreation and Amenity department in Castlebar.

“This week alone, we had Sky News, Derek from TV3 and radio, media interviews. Even today, The Irish Timeshave a feature on it, yesterday the Irish Independent. The Oscars are coming up on the 12th of March. We’re nominated for nine, we might get a couple so here’s hoping!”

www.mayo.ie were quick to capitalise on the phenomenon with The Banshees of Inisherin location trail leaflet, featuring Colin Farrell and Jenny his donkey on the cover, available at their Holiday World stand.

A visit to Achill, one of the key locations on the Wild Atlantic Way, can be combined with a day at a number of agricultural shows near the Mayo coastline such as Bonniconlon, Ballina, Crossmolina, Belmullet, Westport and the most stunning show setting of all: Louisburgh.

“On the Wild Atlantic Way, you have the newly-refurbished Ceide Fields, some fantastic coastal loop walks, then you reach Belmullet that picked up an Irish Times Best Place To Go Wild award (2014),” Anna suggested.

“Then there’s the Nephew National Park with the Mayo Dark Skies park there as well, Achill Island, which is the largest island in Ireland and now we have the newly developed tourist trail on the back of the Banshees of Inisherin.

“We’ve the Great Western Greenway, connecting Westport to Achill Island, and following on from that, a new 104km bike trail that takes in Achill, Clare Island, back to Roonagh Quay in Louisburgh, back then through Murrisk to Westport. That ferry service is a new offering from Easter onwards and links Achill Island to Clare Island, back to Roonagh and Louisburgh, so you can complete the entire Clew Bay loop,” she added about the new island-hopping option for cyclists.

Compared to overseas, there’s a severe shortage of off-road trekking options for the equestrian market, something Mayo County Council is working on.

“There’s a working group established as part of the Clew Bay Destination and Experience development plan. It’s headed up by Michael Lennon from Westport Woods Hotel, so he’s driving that initiative in terms of looking at trails for pony trekking.”

First-time Holiday World representative Diane Kennard at the Amelia Island trade stand \ Susan Finnerty

Bucket list

According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) statistics, Irish residents spent over €8 billion on overseas travel in 2019. Post-Covid, numbers look set to match that figure again as airlines and overseas tour operators at Holiday World reported a strong demand this year.

The USA remains the most popular long-haul destination for Irish tourists and Florida always ranks high on wish lists.

For Diane Kennard, representing Amelia Island, it was her first year at Holiday World. “Definitely, the levels of interest in travelling are back, the energy is so vibrant.”

“Amelia Island (www.ameliaisland.com) is in north-east Florida so you would fly probably into Orlando, about three hours away, drive up the coast with lots of beautiful stops along the way.”

“Only 13 miles long, it’s a very rustic island with lots of nature trails. You can go horse-riding, do yoga on the beach, there’s two five-star luxury resorts on the island which is a real honeymoon destination.”

Kelly Seahorse Ranch and Happy Trails Walking Horses both provide beach rides along the Atlantic shoreline, even on board a Tennessee Walking Horse.

River cruises, dolphin, manatee and wild horse sightings on nearby Cumberland Island, are more suggestions for an Amelia Island itinerary. The wild horses on Cumberland Island are a unique group, with a mix of Tennessee Walkers, American Quarter Horses, Arabians, and Paso Fino ancestors. Later breeds added to the feral horses roaming the island even include mustangs, burroes and retired circus horses.

If a holiday with high-stepping native breeds is on your bucket list, then there’s the Icelandic horse or Peruvian Paso options.

Graham Jowers, Icelandair’s U.K & Ireland Account Manager, was yet another to note the upturn in travel bookings. “Definitely. We’ve probably seen one of the strongest Januarys for a long, long time and having worked with trade for a long time, they’re saying exactly the same thing. Icelandair’s sale finished yesterday and again, we’ve seen strong numbers coming in.”

That jaunt on a unique Icelandic horse can be slotted into a stopover offered by Icelandair (www.icelandair.com) on transatlantic flights.

“With our standard economy and Saga fares, you can stop in Iceland for up to seven days at no addition to the fare. So, if you’ve got people travelling to North America, why not stop in Iceland for two or three nights as part of a separate holiday and then fly on to your destination, which is then very quick. For example, you can go to New York from Reykjavik in about four and a half hours.

“Our biggest twin centres are Iceland to New York and Boston, we fly to both JFK and Newark,” he added, mentioning both New York airport options.

“It just gives people the option to fly over two hours from Dublin to Iceland and break the journey. If you don’t want to stop, our connections are very quick. Our flight from Dublin arrives around three o’clock and then our flights to North America are around five, six o’clock.”

If you plan a self-funded stopover in Iceland’s capital, the Blue Lagoon, Northern Lights, whale watching, plus geyser and waterfall-filled national park tours are more suggestions of maximising the complimentary stopover fare.

The iconic Route 66, which passes through Oklahoma, is gearing up for its centenary in 2026 \ Oklahoma Tourism & Recreation Department

Famous horses

Or how about another high-stepping breed, the famous Caballo de Paso in Peru?

“Why Peru? It’s very simple because Peru offers a wide variety,” pitched Rafael Suárez Peña, Peru’s Deputy Head of Mission to Ireland.

“If culture is your highlight, there is Machu Picchu, the heart of South American civilisation. Adventures? You can go to Cusco and do hiking, trekking, surfing in the south or the north. If you want to just relax, you will find beaches in the north.

“You can find everything in Peru, including the Caballo de Paso.”

Also known as the Peruvian Paso, this horse breed is another whose gait adapted to the local environment. “They were the horses that came from Europe. Lima is a desert, so it was not easy to walk through the sand and the desert so they learnt another way to walk. You can visit farmers near Lima where you can see the horses, from foals upwards and you can also visit shows about the Caballo de Paso.

“The typical Peruvian Paso is very elegant,” added Milena Rodriguez who can arrange various tours around the country, through www.limatours.com.pe including the must-sees of Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas and Cusco, the ancient Incan capital.

“You can fly to Lima from Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London and Amsterdam or from North America, from Miami for example,” Rafael suggested about air route options.

North America offers an abundance of fly-drive options and with the iconic Route 66 revving up for its centenary, Oklahoma is a fascinating stop along this Chicago -Santa Monica route.

“We’ll have the Route 66 centenary in 2026 with lots of celebrations planned and we look after Route 66 very well in Oklahoma which is very much in the centre of the country,” said longtime Holiday World exhibitor Matt Bates, representing the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department (www.visitOK.com)

“Chicago is just a couple of hours away. We’re also working very closely with Dallas Fort Worth, which is another direct service from Ireland with American Airlines new route. Texas is a really good gateway on the Oklahoma border where you’ll pass through Chickasaw and Choctaw country. And of course, you have preclearance travelling from Ireland, which is a great benefit.”

As with Achill benefitting from The Banshees of Inisherin, Oklahoma too is gearing up for the knock-on publicity of Killers of the Flower Moon, an upcoming movie set in the state around the era of the FBI’s formation. “This is going to be a major movie starring Leonardo di Caprio,” Matt predicted.

Oklahoma’s fascinating history and of its native American tribes can be studied in several Tulsa visitor attractions. “European settlers - mostly German and Swiss - coming west were given lands. The lands were really fertile, although we have 12 ecosystems in Oklahoma; sand and deserts in the north-west, salt plains, uplands and down to almost Alpine in the south-east.”

There is more to the ‘Sooner State’ than waving wheat and cowboys too.

“We have 35 state parks based around lakes and reservoirs so there’s terrific outdoor facilities and of course there’s music. Blake Shelton, Reba McIntyre and Vince Gill are all from Oklahoma and Tulsa has a rapidly growing live music scene. ‘Tulsa sound’ came from there and we have Bob Dylan’s archive there,” he said, referring to a treasure trove of 100,000 items connected with the legendary singer housed in the city.

From high-stepping horses to country and western hotspots, Peruvian wonders to beach rides on the other side of the Atlantic - this is just a sample of what was on offer at this year’s Holiday World.