News

Cork's record Cruise Year

The Port of Cork has experienced a record season for cruise liner visits with 100 vessels bringing nearly a quarter of a million passengers and crew to the region. corkcruise1119

The visits are worth millions to the local economy as research found cruise ship passengers spend an average of €81 during their visit to Cork, while crew spend approximately €29.

The Port of Cork said 243,000 passengers and crew visited the region with many passengers visiting Cork for the first time.

The vast majority dock at the cruise liner terminal on the deep water quay in Cobh.

As well as Cobh, the Port of Cork also operates Bantry Bay Port Company which saw 10 cruise liners calling to the West Cork area this summer.

Applications are now open for the Strategic Management Programme for Tourism and Hospitality Leaders. Delivered by the Irish Management Institute in partnership with Fáilte Ireland, the programme has been designed to give business leaders the competencies they need to future proof their businesses in light of the current challenges facing the tourism industry.

Tourism businesses require senior executives and managers with strong leadership and strategic management competencies to understand the changing environment and how to formulate a strategy to meet their future needs, tailor the experiences they offer to match prevailing customer trends and focus their marketing activity to create a competitive advantage for their tourism business.

Speaking about the Strategic Management Programme, Martina Bromley, Head of Hospitality & Enterprise Development, Fáilte Ireland, said:

Levy on coffee cups planned

A new levy of up to 25 cent on a disposable coffee cup is one of a number of environmental charges planned by the Government.

The exact level of the coffee cup levy is yet to be finalised, and will depend on “market research”, but it is expected to be either 10 cent, 15 cent or 25 cent

It will apply to all single-use cups, including compostable cups.

The environmental levies will be introduced in phases. As well as the levy on coffee cups and the increase in the plastic bag levy, the first phase will also see medium weight plastic bags – often sold as heavy duty bags – hit with the plastic bag levy for the first time.

Irish Whiskey 'a protected food' in China

The European Union and China have agreed to protect 100 European regional food names, known as 'geographical indications' (GI), in China and 100 Chinese 'geographical indications' in the EU, said a statement from the EU Commission. whiskey

The deal will include protecting the name of products such as cava, Irish whiskey, feta and prosciutto di Parma, as well as China's Pixian bean paste, Anji white tea and Panjin rice.

The deal significantly expands the number of foods protected by GIs from the 10 products on both sides that were agreed in 2012 and should help boost trade in higher value goods.