In Ireland, Chamber group promotes Connecticut tourism
The Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut has long focused on tourism, and a Connecticut delegation has previously gone on tourism promotion trips to Australia and Belgium and Toronto, but a recent trip was the most elaborate one yet.
So says Tony Sheridan, president of the chamber and a native of the country to which 26 people from Connecticut traveled last month: Ireland.
The trip — which had stops in Dublin, Ireland, and Manchester, England — included U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, along with representatives from Mystic Seaport, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Goodspeed, the Connecticut Airport Authority, the U.S. Department of Commerce and more.
Each group paid for its person or people attending.
Sheridan sat down with The Day this past week to talk about highlights from the Sept. 16-20 trip — and about the next steps in drawing Irish travelers to Connecticut.
Each of the two full days on the trip involved a three-hour “Tastes & Sights” of Connecticut event, first in Dublin and the second in Manches-
ter. A key planner was Anne Evans of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Sheridan said the delegation traveled with 35 pieces of luggage, carrying items like banners, tablecloths, interactive exhibits and wine from Jonathan Edwards Winery and Saltwater Farm Vineyard.
“It was labor-intensive but was it worth doing?” Sheridan said. “Absolutely.”
The trip was planned in part to promote direct flights on Aer Lingus between Bradley International Airport and Dublin Airport, which celebrated the one-year anniversary of the partnership just a week after the trip’s return.
“If we lose Aer Lingus out of Bradley, this will be the second loss and a real shame,” Sheridan said, referring to the cessation of service from Bradley to the Netherlands through KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. “So far, it’s looking really promising as far as volume of passengers,” Courtney told The Day via phone. He commented that frequent flyers include employees of Pfizer and United Technologies, which both have facilities in Ireland.
“The flight was great, direct, really easy, comfortable, great service,” said Sherri Powers, assistant director of sales for Waterford Hotel Group. Powers represents the Hartford Marriott Downtown and Hilton Hartford, but on the trip, she was speaking for all of the hotels in the group’s Connecticut portfolio.
Tour operators “said openly they’re always looking for something different,” Courtney said, commenting that Connecticut is more affordable than Boston or New York. He said some big attractions for them were golf and the Connecticut Wine Trail.
Courtney noted that “the topic of the day is Brexit,” and Sheridan separately stated that the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union is one of the reasons why the tourism trip to Ireland was important now.
Sheridan said it’s important to be engaged with Ireland because more and more American companies in England will be looking there.
And when people from Ireland decide to travel, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut is encouraging them to “Think Mystic Country,” as an eight-foot-tall banner, bearing images of local attractions, advertised at the Dublin and Manchester events.
Representing Mystic Aquarium, Andy Wood, senior vice president of external relations, showcased a 3-D walkthrough of the aquarium and was streaming a live beluga camera.
Looking ahead, Sheridan said the chamber is putting together and pricing out travel packages for the Irish tour companies.
He offered an example of a seven-day trip: Visitors might fly into Bradley Airport, spend the night at the Hartford Marriott Downtown and go to the Mark Twain House the next day.
Then they might go to the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History and spend a night or two at Saybrook Point Inn, with day activities to Mystic Seaport, Mystic Aquarium or the casinos.
A ferry to Long Island and a night or two in New York City would follow. A ferry or bus would return visitors to eastern Connecticut for golf and gaming, followed by a visit to Newport and possibly a day trip to Boston.
Sheridan said of the reception in Ireland, “The first thing that struck them, which really pleased me, was the extent to which we went to communicate that we had something real to offer.”
Aer Lingus put together a video of highlights from the trip, which has been viewed more than 66,000 times on its Facebook page.