I love my job.

Every single day I get to travel all over the world. Some days literally, but most days I travel in my imagination. Not sure which way I love more.

Yesterday morning, I got an email from one of my oldest (as in longevity) and dearest industry friends. We’re scheming and dreaming up an itinerary for the WOW! Travel Club to Ireland next year. Pat Crowley is my Irish DMC (Destination Management Company). A good DMC is vital to the success of an international program because they advise me on everything about their destination, from transportation to tours to timing. They make recommendations about the big things: hotels, places to see, restaurants to reserve, entertainers to book and guides to hire. And every little detail in between. Pat and I have collaborated on many programs together over the years, and – as much as anybody in this industry – Pat “gets” me … and knows the kind of unique experiences I want to create for my groups.

Before I give you a hint of some of the special stuff I’m considering for Ireland, let me tell you the story of how our relationship began. Waaaay back (in 1990 or so), one of my largest and most important clients – the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) – decided they wanted to go to Ireland for their regional conference the following summer. I’d never operated a program to Ireland, but had participated on a recent FAM (familiarization) trip as a guest of the Irish Tourist Board.  I looked at everything with NECA in mind – and had come home from that trip with a clear idea of how the program would operate.

When planning any program, one of my most crucial decisions is choosing a DMC. Someone with whom to brainstorm and collaborate and add magic pixie dust to the program. Some decisions aren’t that difficult. Choosing a hotel, for example, because I simply look at factors like size, cost, amenities, location, style, etc. But when it comes to people – especially the charming Irish – how do I possibly choose one person over the other? There are many well established, credible and knowledgeable people willing to support me on such a project – and did I mention that they are all delightfully charming?

Having met several Irish DMCs in my first decade in this industry, I decided that I would solicit a bid from three of them. I faxed over my plan for the day-by-day itinerary and requested their quote.  With an apples-to-apples program, it would be easier to make a choice. 

I received a prompt response, each DMC providing exactly what I asked for. But one of them gave me more.  I wish I could recall his eloquent and tactful way of explaining why my suggested plan was stupid (my word … not his), and explained his reasoning. Then he laid out his idea for an alternate program – which was brilliant.

That man, of course, was Pat.

And that first program to Ireland was magnificent. Stunning. Flawless. But not without its operational challenges. When the group size expanded from an anticipated maximum of 150 people to more than 200 (admittedly, a nice problem) … the hotel’s ballroom wouldn’t accommodate a group that large. Back in those days, there were no other good venues nearby, but Pat helped find a solution. We had a lot of kids, roughly 40 of them – so we planned a concurrent kids-only dinner in the hotel’s atmospheric basement bar (without alcohol, of course). The kids were thrilled with their special menu, bonded with each other and commandeered their own bus for the rest of the trip.

Me and the charming Eugene McConville, who demonstrated how to “scutch and hackle” flax at his old mill.

And that’s just one example of how important it is for me to choose the right DMC partner.

Planning a WOW journey is a bit different. Group size will be only about 20 people or so. There’s not much profit to be made on such a small group of 20. Many DMCs have bigger fish to fry and it’s understandable that many wouldn’t give much attention to such a request.

But, of course, Pat is special. Yesterday morning, he sent an email with a “few” ideas that he’d been pondering for WOW.  As you can see from the correspondence below, he offered an unbelievable number of options!  This is the work of a passionate man who loves his country – and happens to know just about everyone in Ireland!

Festivals:

Use one of Ireland’s many festivals as an anchor point to determine dates and around which to build a programme. There’s a website www.entertainment.ie/festivals which lists some of the key festivals for the current year; typically the same dates are maintained year to year, as in first week-end in June, 3^rd week in July etc. If you were to go by the listing, you’d reckon we do nothing in this country except roll from one festival to another!

Music/dance:

Doolin is regarded as THE home of traditional Irish music.

Live music and Irish dance session in a family home … thatched cottage, open fire, Mam & Dad, son and/or daughter.

Traditional music festival in Gaelic-speaking village of Spiddal, on the shores of Galway Bay.

Landscape/History:

The Burren has been described as “a vast memorial to bygone cultures” (wedge tombs of Neolithic origin, ring forts, portal tombs, stone forts and ruined cathedrals). The Burren is one of those places that you have to get right into, walk, smell, touch, feel: we’d traverse the small roads that criss-cross the Burren; and/or do a walking tour, and/or take battery-powered bicycles for a “Burren ramble.”

Do a day trip to Inisheer/Aran Islands, with close up view of Cliffs of Moher en route.

Visit underground caves at Doolin and Ailwee with magnificent stalagmites and stalactites.

Private visit to the Dunbrody replica famine ship at New Ross.

Visit the JFK (Kennedy) homestead at Dunganstown.

Artisal Foods:

Experience local “cottage“ industries producing chocolate, organic pork , St. Tola’s goat’s cheese (we did a goat walk through the hazel woods along the shores of Galway Bay, followed by BBQ on the water’s edge while a curious little seal kept watch on us the whole time.  Curious, or maybe just hungry!)

Brigitte Curtin in Lisdoonvarna does the finest smoked salmon in the county. She has supplied it for state banquets in Dublin castle and Windsor Castle. We bring little groups to her place from time to time, while down the street her husband Peter has his own little micro-brewery dispensing three different brews … while Chef Kieran in the kitchen serves up the best Lamb Stew I have ever tasted.

There are food festivals, harvest festivals, oyster festivals . . .

Visit the Smithwicks Brewery in Kilkenny city, one of the oldest in the land, followed by dinner in Kyteler’s Inn – definitely the oldest in the country. It served up its first meal in 1324!

Do a little whiskey tasting in a quaint lake-side pub, with dinner at a castle on a private island.

Sport:

Hurling is THE definitive Irish team game, and Kilkenny is recognized as producing THE very best hurlers in the land. Spend 20/30 at a local hurling match.

Horse racing – Racing is a sport at which Ireland excels; it is also a social occasion without equal and a very special ‘slice of Irish life’.  There are 26 different race courses throughout Ireland.  

Morning visit to the kennels at Mount Juliet and a run-out (on foot or on bikes) with the fox-hounds.

Wow – what a list of options!  My challenge, now, with Pat’s assistance – is crafting the best possible itinerary, using the most cost-effective inclusions, to create a magical, memorable travel experience.  One that incorporates the charm, humor, small towns, genuine hospitality and authentic essence of Ireland.

THAT’s why I love my job as much as I do!

Regardless of how many times you may have been to Ireland, should you choose to come along with me next year, your journey with the WOW! Travel Club will be one of the best travel experiences of your life.

I guarantee it, or my name ain’t Murphy!

My, oh my … those Murphys DO get around in this country!

Comments?  What idea from Pat’s list is the most compelling?  Shall I save a room for you in Ireland?  🙂